Zouave

French zouave during the Crimean war; painting by Aleksander Raczyński (1858)

Zouave was the title given to certain light infantry regiments in the French Army, normally serving in French North Africa between 1831 and 1962. The name was also adopted during the 19th century by units in other armies, such as volunteer regiments raised for service in the American Civil War and Brazilian free black volunteers in the Paraguayan War.^[1] The distinctive appearance of such units was given by the zouave uniform, which included short open-fronted jackets, baggy trousers (serouel), and often sashes and oriental head gear.

French Zouaves

Zouaves at the Battle of Zaatcha during the Conquest of Algeria

A French zouave from 1888 wearing white summer serouel instead of the usual red

The Zouaves of the French Army were first raised in Algeria in 1831 with one and later two battalions, initially recruited solely from the Zouaoua (or Zwāwa), a tribe of Berbers located in the mountains of the Jurjura Range (see Kabyles). The Zouaoua had formerly provided soldiers for the deys of Algiers and in August 1830 the commander of the French expeditionary force which had occupied the city recommended their continued employment in this role.^[2] The existence of the new corps was formally recognised by a Royal decree dated 7 March 1833. In 1838 a third battalion was raised, and the regiment thus formed was commanded by Major de Lamoriciere. Shortly afterwards the formation of the Tirailleurs algériens, the Turcos, as the infantry corps for Muslim troops, changed the basis for enlistment of the Zouave battalions. They became an essentially French body, retaining only a limited number of Muslim personnel for specialist functions such as interpreters.

The Zouaves saw extensive service during the French conquest of Algeria, initially at the Mouzaia Pass action (March 1836), then at Mitidja (September 1836) and the siege of Constantine (1837). Recruited through voluntary enlistment or transfer from other regiments of men with at least two years service, the Zouaves quickly achieved the status of an elite amongst the French Army of Africa.

The Second Empire

By 1853, the French Army included three regiments of Zouaves. Each of the three line regiments of Zouaves was allocated to a different province of Algeria, where their depots and peace-time garrisons were located. The Crimean War was the first service which the regiments saw outside Algeria. They subsequently served in the Franco-Austrian War of 1859, the Mexican Intervention (1864–66) and the Franco-Prussian War (1870). The distinctive dress and dash of the Zouaves made them well known outside France and they were frequently portrayed in the illustrated publications of the period. The 2nd Zouaves (popularly known as "the Jackals of Oran") had their eagle decorated with the Legion d' Honneur following the Battle of Magenta in 1859.

On 23 December 1854 a fourth regiment was created, the Zouaves of the Imperial Guard. The actual formation of this unit was delayed until 15 March 1855 when detachments from the Zouave regiments already serving in the Crimea were brought together for this purpose. The Zouaves of the Imperial Guard served through the remainder of the Crimean War and subsequently in all the campaigns of the Second Empire. Their peace-time garrisons were initially at Saint-Cloud and then Versailles from 1857. This regiment wore the classic zouave uniform but with yellow braiding and piping substituted for the red of the line regiments.^[3]

The Third Republic

French zouave officer in Tonkin, Spring 1885

After 1871 the zouaves lost their status as an élite corps solely made up of long-service volunteers; they became a force mainly composed of conscripts from the French settlers in Algeria and Tunisia, undertaking their compulsory military service. Shortfalls in numbers were made up by detachments from the southern régions militaires of mainland France (Métropole). The Zouave regiments did however retain significant numbers of long-service volunteers (engages volontiers et réengages) who contributed to the high morale and steadiness of these units.^[4]

Two Zouave battalions (under chefs de bataillon Simon and Mignot) served in Tonkin during the closing weeks of the Sino-French War (August 1884 to April 1885). One of these battalions was roughly handled on 23 March 1885 in the Battle of Phu Lam Tao. A third Zouave battalion (chef de bataillon Metzinger) joined the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps shortly after the end of the war, and took part in operations against Vietnamese insurgents.

In 1899 a law created for each regiment of Zouaves a 5th Battalion, "to be stationed in France" in groupes des 5e bataillons de Zouaves. The 5th battalions of the 1st and 4th Zouaves were stationed as part of the Gouvernement militaire de Paris. The 5th battalions of the 2nd and 3rd Zouaves were stationed in the région militaire de Lyon. Upon mobilization for war in France, these battalions would form the nucleus of Régiments de Marche de Zouaves, each of 3 battalions.^[4]

Zouave battalions subsequently saw active service in China during the Boxer Rising (1900–01) and in Morocco (1908-14).^[5] From the very beginning of World War I Zouave regiments and detached battalions saw extensive service on the Western Front. Others served in Macedonia, the Dardanelles, Tonkin, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. Twelve Zouave battalions were recruited for exclusively North African service from French-speaking prisoners-of-war and deserters from German Alsace and Lorraine, who had volunteered to join the French Army.^[6]

French Zouaves in the First World War

The four Zouave regiments of the French Army wore their traditional colorful dress during the early months of the First World War.^[7] The development of the machine gun, rapid-fire artillery and improved small-arms obliged them to adopt a plain khaki uniform from 1915 on.^[8] From 1927 to 1939 the "oriental dress" of red fez ("chichi"), blue sash, braided blue jackets with waistcoats and voluminous red trousers was reintroduced as off-duty dress for re-enlisted NCOs and other long-service regulars in the Zouave regiments. It was also worn by colour guards and other detachments on ceremonial occasions. White trousers of the same style had earlier been worn as an item of hot-weather dress. The four regiments were distinguished by the colours (red, blue, white and yellow) of the "tombeaus" or false pockets on the front of their open-fronted jackets.

The Zouaves played a major role in the 1914-18 War with their numbers being expanded to nine regiments de marche. These units retained much of their traditional panache, especially in attack.^[9] They became however less conspicuous in World War II, seeing service mainly during the opening stages of the war in the Battle of France (1940) and in the course of the liberation of France (1944).

Post-1945

Commandos de Chasse of the 4th Zouave regiment serving in Algeria, between 1960 and 1962

As predominantly conscript units the Zouaves did not serve in Indochina between 1945 and 1954. They were, however, employed extensively during the Algerian War, before being finally disbanded in 1962 following Algerian independence. This was inevitable since their recruitment base was the European population of Algeria, which dispersed with the ending of French rule. The 9th Zouaves based in the Casbah, played a major role in the 1957 Battle of Algiers.

The traditions of the zouave regiments were maintained until 2006 by the French Army's Commando Training School (CEC), which occasionally paraded colour parties and other detachments in zouave dress. With the closure of the CEC school that year and the putting into store of the flag of the former 9th Zouaves in 2010, any direct link between the former zouaves and active units of the modern French Army ceased. While other branches of the old French Army of Africa have either survived or been reestablished as representative units in recent years (notably the Foreign Legion, Chasseurs d'Afrique, Tirailleurs, and Spahis), France does not have any plans to recreate one of its most distinctive and best known military corps.

Papal Zouaves

Pontifical Zouave of Major O'Reilley's Papal Brigade, and a veteran of the battles against Garibaldi. Fully armed and equipped with a .71 cal. Model 1842 French Rifle with sword bayonet, and backpack.

Jules Marie Deluen (1849–1918) in Papal Zouave uniform in Nantes, France

The Papal Zouaves was a corps of volunteers formed as part of the Army of the Papal States. The Zouaves evolved out of a unit formed by Lamoricière in 1860: the Franco-Belgian Tirailleurs.^[10] On January 1, 1861 the unit was renamed the Papal Zouaves.^[11]

The Zuavi Pontifici were mainly young men, unmarried and Roman Catholic, who volunteered to assist Pope Pius IX in his struggle against the Italian Risorgimento. They wore a similar style of uniform to that of the French Zouaves but in grey with red trim. A grey and red kepi was substituted for the North African fez.

All orders were given in French, and the unit was commanded by a Swiss Colonel, M. Allet.^[12] The regiment was truly international, and by May 1868 numbered 4,592 men including 1,910 Dutch, 1,301 French, 686 Belgians and 240 Italians.^[13] A total of three hundred volunteers came from Canada, the United States and Ireland; while the remaining 155 Zouaves were mostly South American.^[14]

The Papal Zouaves assisted in the notable Franco/Papal victory at the Battle of Mentana on November 3, 1867. They suffered the brunt of the fighting, sustaining 81 casualties in the battle, including 24 killed (the Papal forces suffered only 30 dead in total).^[15] The official report of the battle prepared by the French commander, General de Failly cited the bravery of the Zouaves.^[16] They were also mentioned in Victor Hugo's poem Mentana.^[17]

The Zouaves also played a role in the final engagements against the forces of the newly united Kingdom of Italy in September 1870, in which the Papal forces were outnumbered almost seven to one.^[18] The Zouaves fought bravely before surrender.^[19] Several Zouaves were reportedly executed or murdered by the Italian forces following the surrender.^[20][21]

The French component of the Papal Zouaves regrouped as the Volontaires de l'Ouest (Volunteers of the West) to fight on the French side in the Franco-Prussian War, where they kept their grey and red Papal uniforms. The Zouaves saw action outside Orléans, Patay^[22] and the Battle of Loigny.^[23] The Volontaires de l'Ouest were disbanded after the entrance of Prussian troops into Paris.

An English veteran, Joseph Powell, published his account of his service with the Papal Zouaves, Two Years in the Pontifical Zouaves

Polish Zouaves of Death

François Rochebrune in uniform of Zouave of Death

Zouaves of Death in the Battle of Miechów during the January Uprising of 1863; painting by Walery Eljasz-Radzikowski

In 1863, during the Polish January Uprising against the Russian Empire, a French ex-officer who had served previously in one of the French zouave regiments, François Rochebrune, organised the Zouaves of Death. Members of this Polish unit swore "to conquer or to die" and not to surrender. They wore a black uniform with white cross and red fez.

The unit's baptism by fire occurred at the Battle of Miechów, where under the command of adjutant Wojciech Komorowski, they successfully charged Russian forces defending the local cemetery. However, the overall engagement was a defeat for the Poles. On February 17, 1863. Lt. Tytus O'Brien de Lacy escaped with 400 zouaves to Galicia in March 1863. In the Battle of Chroberz the Zouaves covered the retreat of the main body of Polish forces under Marian Langiewicz. They also fought at the follow-up Battle of Grochowiska where they captured Russian artillery positions but suffered very high casualties.

Commanding officers of the regiment were:

• Colonel François Rochebrune;
• Lieutenant Count Wojciech Komorowski;
• Lieutenant Tytus O'Brien de Lacy;
• Lieutenant Antoni Wojcicki; and
• Lieutenant Tenente Bella.

Zouaves of the American Civil War

Sergt Francis E. Brownell, 11th N.Y. Regt, 1861.

Goslin Zouave, 95th Regt, Pv by Xanthus Russell Smith, 1861.

Numerous Zouave regiments were organized from soldiers of the United States of America who adopted the name and the North African–inspired uniforms during the American Civil War.^[24] The Union army had more than 70 volunteer Zouave regiments throughout the conflict, while the Confederates fielded about 25 Zouave companies.^[25] A feature of some American zouave units, at least in the opening stages of the American Civil War, was the light infantry tactics and drill they employed. Zouaves: "...utilised light infantry tactics that emphasised open-order formations, with several feet between soldiers, rather than the customary close order, with its characteristic 'touch of elbows'. They moved at double-time, rather than marching to a stately cadence, and they lay on their backs to load their rifles rather than standing to do so. To fire, they rolled prone and sometimes rose on one knee."

Arguably the most famous Union Zouave regiments were from New York and Pennsylvania: the 5th New York Volunteer Infantry, "Duryee's Zouaves" (after its first colonel, Abram Duryee), the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry; "Collis's Zouaves" (after their colonel, Charles H. T. Collis); and the 11th New York Volunteer Infantry, the "Fire Zouaves". The 11th New York was initially led by Col. Elmer E. Ellsworth, until his death in 1861. The 11th New York was badly mauled during the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861 as it acted as the rear guard for the retreating Army of the Potomac. The 14th Brooklyn received its nickname, the "Red Legged Devils," during the First Battle of Bull Run. Referring to the regiment's colorful red trousers as the regiment repeatedly charged up Henry House Hill, Confederate General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson yelled to his men, "Hold On Boys! Here come those red-legged devils again!"^[26] The 5th New York was considered one of the elite units of the Army of the Potomac; it was one of only two volunteer regiments serving with the regular division commanded by George Sykes. At the Second Battle of Bull Run, the 5th New York, along with another Zouave regiment, the 10th New York "National Zouaves," held off the flanking attack of James Longstreet's Corps for ten crucial minutes before it was overrun. The 5th New York thus suffered the highest percentage of casualties in the shortest amount of time of any unit in the Civil War (of 525 men, approximately 120 were killed and 330 were wounded in less than 10 minutes).

American Zouave ambulance crew demonstrating removal of wounded soldiers from the field, during the American Civil War.

In 1863 and 1864, three Union regiments (146th New York, 140th New York, and 155th Pennsylvania) were issued with Zouave uniforms to reward their proficiency in drill and battlefield performance.^[27] Difficulties in supply and replacement meant that Zouave and other exotic militia uniforms tended to be replaced by standard issue uniforms throughout the conflict. However, the tradition remained strong, and the last Union casualty of the fighting in Virginia was reported to be a Zouave of the 155th Pennsylvania, killed at Farmville, Virginia, on the morning of April 9, 1865.^[28]

A number of Confederate Zouave units were also raised. In contrast to the many Federal units, most Confederate Zouaves were not full "regiments;" many were companies within larger units. The cognomen "Louisiana Tiger" dates from the Mexican–American War; it refers to any Louisiana state trooper (and more recently, to the state's athletic teams). But none of the Mexican War Louisiana "Tigers" were Zouaves. The earliest, and most famous, Louisiana Zouave unit was White's Company B (the "Tiger Rifles") of Major Chatham Roberdeau Wheat's 1st Special Battalion, Louisiana Volunteers, a.k.a. "Louisiana Tigers." Another notable Zouave regiment on the Confederate side was "Coppen's Zouaves," which were raised by Georges Augustus Gaston De Coppens in 1861. They saw action in the Peninsula Campaign and at the Siege of Petersburg, all the while being short of supplies. They were disbanded in 1865.^[29]

Winters also notes that a group of itinerant actors, who claimed to have served in European wars, stimulated the Zouave craze. The actors attracted large crowds and inspired the formation of military companies. They visited several New Orleans companies and instructed the men in a new manual of arms. They toured the river towns and played to an overflow audience in Plaquemine, Louisiana. In Alexandria, in central Louisiana, the actors performed "a bloody drama of the Crimean War."^[30]

Among the Louisiana Zouaves were the "Louisiana Tigers" or "Coppen's Zouaves." These names have been conflated as "Louisiana Tigers at Gettysburg." Coppen's Zouaves were at Gettysburg, but they were not then known as "Louisiana Tigers." Captain White's Company B, "Louisiana Tigers," of Major Wheat's 1st Special Battalion, were not at Gettysburg; they were disbanded after Wheat's death at Gaines Mill in 1862.

Post-Civil War

Zouaves gradually vanished from the U.S. military in the 1870s and 1880s, as the militia system slowly transformed into the National Guard. As an example, the Wisconsin militia still included one zouave unit in 1879; but the following year, in 1880, a standard Wisconsin Guard uniform was adopted, and the traditional distinctions of title and dress ceased.^[31] After the Civil War, veteran groups sometimes dressed as zouaves during honor guard ceremonies such as funeral processions, since zouave dress was considered colorful and distinctive. Modern American Civil War reenactments often feature zouave units.^[32]

American Zouave uniforms

The Brierwood Pipe, an 1864 oil painting by Winslow Homer of two 5th New York Zouaves

The zouave uniform was sometimes quite elaborate, to the extent of being unwieldy. Some Zouave regiments wore a fez with a colored tassel (usually yellow, blue, green, or red) and turban, a tight fitting short jacket (some without buttons), a wide 10-foot-long (300 cm) sash, baggy pantaloons or "chasseur" trousers, white leggings, and a short leather cuff for the calf, called jambieres. The sash was especially difficult to put on, often requiring the help of another zouave. The zouave uniform was better suited for warm climates and rough terrain. The loose pantaloons allowed for greater freedom of movement than trousers, while the short jacket was much cooler than the long woolen blouse worn by most armies of the time. One of the reasons for the smaller number of zouave units in the U.S. and Europe was the expense of the specialized uniform over that of mass-produced uniforms of a single color and cut.

Spanish Zouaves

Spanish zouaves in the Third Carlist War (1872–1876) were created by the Pretender to the Spanish throne, Don Alfonso Carlos, who raised the Carlist Zouaves as an honor guard for himself and his wife Maria de las Nieves Braganza. The Carlist Zouaves originated as the sixth company of the second battalion of the Pontifical Zouaves. Don Alfonso Carlos had formerly served as a lieutenant in the Pontifical Zouave. The Carlist Zouaves had the status of an elite unit within the army of Catalonia and the Maestrazgo. The uniforms of the Carlist Zouaves included the baggy trousers, short jacket, vest and sash of both the French and Pontifical Zouaves. However, the Carlist Zouaves also wore a distinctive feature that differentiated them from existing zouave regiments elsewhere, in the form of a beret of Basque influence with a characteristic tassel. In order to distinguish the troops from the officers, the color of the officer's jacket was a blue gray shade with a darker blue for the other ranks. The beret worn by the troops was white with a yellow tassel while the officers wore a red beret with yellow tassel. The baggy trousers were grayish for all ranks.

Zouave influence elsewhere

A Brazilian Zouave, Paraguayan War

• Features of the zouave dress were widely copied by the colonial units of various European armies during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These included African regiments raised by Portugal, Britain, Spain, and Italy, as well as the West India Regiment in British service. Amongst the French North African forces the Spahis (Algerian cavalry with French officers) and the Turcos (Algerian infantry) were both dressed in the same style as the Zouaves but with different colours.
• Between 1880 and 1908 the Turkish Imperial Guard included two zouave regiments. The Abdul Hamid II Collection in the US Library of Congress has a number of photographs of these soldiers. They wore a uniform similar to that of the French Zouaves but with green turbans and less widely cut red breeches. The Ottoman Zouaves were disbanded following the Young Turks coup of 1908, when the Imperial Guard was reduced to a ceremonial palace unit.^[33]
• Morocco and Algeria still have zouave-style dress uniforms for their ceremonial guard units. The Tunisian Presidential Guard retained such a uniform until at least 1969.^[34]
• Under the Empire of Brazil, a battalion of black volunteers, called the "Zuavos da Bahia" (Bahian Zouaves) was organized in 1865.^[35] Although such use drew on a long tradition of black men's service to the Brazilian monarchy and State, both government and army soon rejected such segregated units, scattering its men along other units.^[36]

In popular culture

• In French vernacular speech, the phrase "faire le Zouave" can be translated as "to act the goat" i.e. to behave wildly.^[37] In this context "zouave" is used as an insult by Captain Haddock, a character in The Adventures of Tintin. Professor Calculus takes particular offense at the insult in the volume Destination Moon, and is again insulted at the conclusion of Explorers on the Moon.
• In the film Gods and Generals, the 11th New York (Ellsworth's Fire Zouaves) and the 14th Brooklyn (84th New York Infantry) are shown fighting the Stonewall Brigade at First Manassas. The 14th Brooklyn, is shown as an individual regiment, but only as part of a large, mixed regiment (which is inaccurate). In contrast, the 11th New York is shown as a full regiment and is heavily focused on during the struggle for the Union cannons. Later in the film at the battle of Fredricksburg, both the 114th Pennsylvania (Collis Zouaves) and the 5th New York (Duryea's Zouaves) are shown. The 114th is shown defending the pontoon bridges against General Barksdale's Mississippi Brigade as the Union cross, and the 5th New York is briefly shown as the Union are looting Fredricksburg. In the special extended version of the movie, the 14th Brooklyn can be seen fighting at the Battle of Antietam.
• In the film Gettysburg, The 14th Brooklyn are shown during the first day of battle and is heavily focused on when John Reynolds is killed.
• In the film Glory, the 14th Brooklyn is shown in the beginning and during the Battle of Antietam. The 14th Brooklyn is actually supposed to represent the Zouave d' Afrique (114th Pennsylvania a.k.a. Collis Zouaves later in history) because the scene is showing the assault on the Sunken Road. Zouaves can also be seen escorting General Strong's party as it observes Fort Wagner.
• In Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind, a Zouave, Rene Picard, joins the Confederate Army of Tennessee in Atlanta, Georgia. Picard is remembered for his good humor, charm, and optimism; also, for his inveterate Creole French accent.
• In the 1955 Danny Kaye film The Court Jester, the Jackson Zouaves American Legion Drill Team from Jackson, Michigan, is seen performing a humorous drill routine using the traditional Zouave quick-march. The group also made several appearances, in full Zouave uniform, on The Ed Sullivan Show between 1953 and 1960.
• In the 1960 Edward Gorey book The Fatal Lozenge, a Zouave is the subject of the final poem in Gorey's alphabetical list. In the poem, the Zouave, used to killing after years of war, stabs a young child who has begun to prattle.
• The character portrayed on the front of Zig-Zag rolling papers, colloquially known as the "Zig-Zag man", originates from a folk story about a Zouave in the battle of Sevastopol. When the soldier's clay pipe was destroyed by a bullet, he attempted to roll his tobacco using a piece of paper torn from his bag of gunpowder.
• In the Buster Keaton film The Playhouse, a zouave drill routine is one of the acts at the theatre. One of the gags involves Buster's boss telling him to get him some Zouaves and Buster first hands him a pack of cigarettes (referring to the above brand).^[38]

See also

• 9th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
• 10th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
• 146th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
• 62nd New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment
• 8th Missouri Volunteer Infantry
• Pont de l'Alma
• Zouave jacket
• 11th Regiment Indiana Infantry
• Castle Pinckney has photos of the Charleston, South Carolina, Zouave Cadets.

Notes

References

• Smith, Robin. American Civil War Zouaves. London: Osprey Publishing, 1996. ISBN 1-85532-571-3
• Jean-Louis Larcade. Zouaves & Tirailleurs Vols 1 and 2 Editions des Argonautes ISBN 2-9515171-0-6

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zouaves.

• Zouave Database Online
• 114th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry - Collis' Zouaves d'Afrique
• Van Gogh portrait of a Zouave soldier
• Lithograph of a Zouave soldier by Lucien Lefevre, 1898, for Absinthe Mugnier
• Remington 1863 Zouave Rifle
• "Les Zouaves" (French)
• Photograph of Alfred Laroque, a Canadian Papal Zouave, taken at Montreal, Quebec in 1868 by William Notman (1826–1891), housed in the McCord Museum in Montreal. Laroque is posed seated and wears three medals.
• The Papal Zouaves
• Texts on Wikisource:
  • "Zouaves". New International Encyclopedia. 1905. 
  • "Zouaves". The Nuttall Encyclopædia. 1907. 
  • "Zouave". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911. 
  • "Zouaves". The New Student's Reference Work. 1914. 
  • "Zouave". Encyclopedia Americana. 1920. 
  • "Zouave". Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921.