Recently, I assumed the position of American Civil War Editor for THE COURIER. I hope to present a series of articles dealing with battle reports, rule reviews or modifications and descriptions of the uniforms, organization and equipment used by the Union and Confederate Armies. My first article presents a description of some of the more elaborately dressed units in the war, the Zouaves. The Zouaves took their name and style of dress from Berber tribesmen recruited into the French Army in Algeria in 1831. In general, they wore a short waist length jacket with no collar, fastened with a single cord near the throat; a waistcoat, and voluminous trousers. These trousers were more like large bags with leg openings, reaching slightly below the knee. Gaiters, a tassled fez with turban, and a waist sash worn under the jacket, completed the outfit. The units became widely known for their exploits during the Crimean War; by which time they were composed largely of Frenchmen. The American Zouaves in some cases were drawn from immigrants who had served in these French units, but a large number were militia units who sought a "dashing" uniform. Drill units, such as the Chicago Zouaves of E.E. Ellsworth, toured both North and South before the war, and doubtless did much to popularize the style. The number of Zouave units actually participating during the war is difficult to accurately determine. For the Confederacy, at least 3 Louisiana units have some documentation; 2 South Carolina regiments and 1 regiment from Virginia have been mentioned. In the book Uniforms of the Civil War, Lord and Wise list some 58 Union Zouave regiments, mostly from New York (17 regiments), Pennsylvania (11), Wisconsin (8), and Ohio (7). Massachusetts had 3, Illinois and Indiana 2 each and 1 Zouave regiment each from the District of Columbia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey and Rhode Island. The length of time these units wore the Zouave dress varied greatly, some rapidly discarded the uniform, others wore the uniform until it was no longer serviceable and some kept the Zouave uniform throughout their service. One brigade in the Union army, the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, 5th Army Corps, was composed entirely of Zouave regiments. These regiments were the 140th and 146th New York, and the 91st and 155th Pennsylvania. The Zouaves have the dubious distinction of being the first on the Union side to lose a ranking officer. Upon the start of the war, E.E. Ellsworth had left his drill team to organize a regiment of Zouaves in New York, and had been appointed their commander. On May 24th 1861, after entering Alexandria, VA with the 11th New York Zouaves, Col. Ellsworth was killed while attempting to tear down a Confederate banner. The man who shot Co. Ellsworth was immediately killed by Pvt. Brownell of the 11 th New York, who was awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor for his action. Detailing the uniforms worn by the Zouave units is hampered by the lack of information available. Of the 58 units listed by Lord and Wise, information is readily available on 19. This listing of Zouave units includes regiments containing only a few companies in Zouave dress. As these companies would not long have maintained their separate style, I have not counted them in my compilation. A further extension in the number of Zouave regiments could be made if units such as the 4th Michigan, which wore a Zouave style stocking cap and tassel, were counted as Zouave regiments. What follows is a list of those units in which most of the men wore a Zouave style uniform or the regiment was titled as a Zouave unit. NEW YORK 5th - Duryee's Zouaves: The uniform consisted of a blue jacket and waistcoat trimmed in red, a blue-grey sash, baggy red "Zouave trousers", white leggings, and a scarlet fez with a blue tassel. The Zouave dress was worn by the 5th throughout its service, and when mustered out in 1863, many of the men joined Halleck's Zouaves where they served for the remainder of the war. 6th - Wilson's Zouaves: This unit began the war wearing a grey Zouave jacket, however, the quality was so poor that the uniform rapidly fell apart and was replaced with the standard Union uniform. 9th - Hawkins' Zouaves: A more conservative uniform was worn by the 9th. The jacket, waistcoat and trousers being blue and a purple trim, a light blue or purple sash, white leggings and red fez completing the outfit. 10th - National Zouaves: Initially, this unit wore a dark brown jacket, vest and trousers trimmed in red. The uniform was changed in October of 1861, maintaining the red trimmed brown jacket, but adding a red vest and fez, white leggings, and light blue trousers with red trim. 11th - Ellsworth First Fire Zouaves: The "Fire Zouaves" in the regiment's name has nothing to do with the firing ability of the unit, but instead refers to the fact that many of the men were New York volunteer firemen. The original uniform was a blue jacket trimmed in yellow, baggy red trousers, leather leggings and a red kept. This was changed after the beginning of the war incorporating a grey jacket with blue trim and tan gaiters. A blue band was added around the base of the kept, and on occasion grey pants with a red stripe worn instead of the red trousers. 14th Brooklyn Chasseurs or Brooklyn Zouaves: The unit wore a uniform similar to that of the French Chasseurs- a-Pied with a short blue jacket with a collar, and brass buttons down the front. A red strip with buttons down the center of the jacket gave the impression of an underlying shirt. Baggy red pants, white leggings and a red kepi with a blue band were worn. In addition, a red sash was wrapped around outside the jacket. The unit was originally a militia unit but was later enlisted as the 84th New York. 44th - Ellsworth's Avengen: The 44th only wore the Zouave uniform for a short time, in fact the officers and NCO's always wore the regular Union uniform. The privates wore blue kept, jacket and trousers all trimmed in red along with yellow leggings, and a linen havelock attached to the rear of the kept. 62nd - Andenon's Zouaves: The uniform of the 62nd is not reported anywhere I've looked. It can be assumed that no matter the color, the uniform was probably too dirty to tell, as this regiment was said to be extremely sloppy, with garbage strewn throughout their bivoac area. Fighting and theiving from fellow soldiers seem to have been the prefered course of action in the 62nd. 84th: See 14th New York. 140th: The uniform of the 140th was the same as that worn by the 5th New York. 146th - Hallecks Infantry: This unit contained a number of men from the 5th New York and the uniform was similar in style, however, both the trousers and jacket were blue, and the sash red. 165th - Duryee's 2nd Zouaves: Only the officers wore a Zouave style uform in this regiment; the design being like that of the 5th New York. PENNSYLVANIA 23rd - Birney's Zouaves: For the first 6 months of service, this unit wore a Zouave style uniform with dark blue jacket and trousers. 72nd- Baxters' Philadelphia Fire Zouaves: Another unit composed of volunteer firemen, the 72nd's uniform consisted of a blue jacket, light blue trousers with a red seam, a light blue shirt and white leggings. 114th - Collis' Zouaves: The 114th wore a Zouave style uniform throughout their service in the Army of the Potomac. The uniform had a dark blue jacket and sash trimmed in red, and red trousers. 155th: This unit wore a yellow-trimmed card blue jacket, loose dark blue knee-britches, white leggings, a red fez, and a red sash trimmed in yellow. MASSACHUSETTS 8th - Salem Zouaves: The uniform of the 8th consisted of a dark blue jacket and trousers trimmed in scarlet, with white leggings and a red kept. 23rd: The 23rd began the war in Zouave dress wearing a grey jacket with blue facing, dark blue trousers and grey kept, all trimmed in red. However, when it was found that this made men too easily recognized when "foraging" in neighboring farmyards, the regimental commander ordered a change to standard Union uniform. ILLINOIS 19th: At least 3 companies of the 19th wore a Zouave style dress (A, D and K) the uniform being a dark blue jacket with yellow trim, red sash, baggy red pants, and red kepi with blue band. INDIANA 11th - Wallace Zouav - : The uniform of the 11th had very little braidwork being a blue-grey jacket with dark red trim around the edges, plain blue-grey pants with very little bagginess, a dark blue shirt and a red cap with a blue band. LOUSIANA 1st - Louisiana Zouaves: The 1st began the war wearing a Zouave style uniform similar to those of the Union forces. They wore a dark blue jacket and shirt with red trim, red trousers, white leggings, grey sash and red fez. 1st Special Battalion - Wheat's Tiger Zouaves: The Tigers were an undisciplined unit reported to be filled with thieves, cutthroats and other brigands (of course that might be a Northern opinion). The unit served quite well through the early stages of the war until the loss of its commanding officer at Gaines Mill. The Tigers' uniform consisted of a dark brown jacket with red trim, red fez shirt and sash, and trousers of white and blue or red white and blue stripes. I have been able to find other Zouave units mentioned in various sources, but as yet, have little on their uniforms, in particular, Meagher's Zouaves (69th New York), the 91st Pennsylvania which composed part of the Zouave Brigade, and the Louisiana Avengo Zouaves. I hope to fill in some of the blank spaces in my list of Zouave regiments and put together a second article in the future. However, since I have limited time to search for this data, I would appreciate information from readers. I can be reached through THE COURIER and of course any information used will be properly acknowledged. SOURCES Francis A. Lord and Arthur Wise, Uniforms of the Civil War, Thomas Yoseloff, New York 1970. John Stepp and I. William Hill, Mirror of War, Castle Books, New Jersey 1961. Philip Haythornwaite, Uniforms of the Civil War 1861-1865, Macmillan, New York 1976. Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. 2 #5 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1981 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com