“America wasn’t the only country to embrace France’s Zouave uniform.”

IN TODAY’S WORLD of disruptive camouflage, ghillie suits and stealth technology, the idea of marching into combat in red silk pants, a bright blue tunic adorned with shiny gold buttons and a garish fez seems at best anachronistic, at worst foolhardy. But that’s exactly what France’s famous 19th Century Zouave regiments wore into battle. And it made them legends.

In fact, a number of armies around the world were so taken by the dazzling pomp of the North African-inspired Zouave uniforms they rushed to raise their own copycat regiments.

Certainly among the most famous of these were the American Zouave units that fought for both the Union and the Confederacy in the Civil War – the 5^th New York Volunteer Infantry and the Louisiana Tigers, for example.

But America wasn’t the only country to embrace France’s Zouave uniform and tradition. Regiments in Poland, Spain, Turkey and even Brazil fielded light infantry formations that sported the distinctive pantaloons, short jacket and headgear of the famous French Zouaves. Here’s how it happened.

Origins of the Zouaves

Originally, Zouaves were 19th century guerrilla-style fighters from the Zouaoua Berber tribe that inhabited the coastal mountain Djurdjura region of North Africa.

For centuries, the warriors pledged their services to the ruler of Algeria, known as the Dey. But when France conquered Algiers in 1830, the invaders demanded the Zouaoua provide men for the conquest of the rest of the country. The tribe obliged and by 1833, two battalions of what the French were calling “Zouaves” were raised as colonial troops and sent into action throughout Algeria. By the late 1830s, a third battalion was formed. Soon, all three were officially integrated into the French army as elite units.

As their reputation spread, ordinary Frenchmen were keen to volunteer for the Zouaves too. Eventually, any soldier could transfer into the battalions provided that he had at least two years of service in the army.

Over the next 30 years, French Zouaves would fight with distinction in the Crimean War, the intervention in Mexico, and the Franco-Prussian War. One Zouave regiment was even added to Napoleon III’s vaunted Imperial Guard. By the First World War, the Zouaves had grown to nine regiments. They even wore their distinctive garb during many of the battles of 1914.

Coming to America

America’s love affair with the North African stylings of the Zouaves began in the years leading up to the Civil War (1861 to 1865).

While at least one U.S. Army regiment wore the distinctive uniform as far back as the 1846 to 48 Mexican War, an American militia officer named Ephraim Ellsworth organized a Zouave touring company that thrilled audiences nationwide with their colourful uniforms and drill. Suddenly, it seemed like nearly everyone (civilian and military alike) wanted to be seen in the flamboyant and exotic attire.

By the start of the Civil War, nearly 100 volunteer regiments from both the North and South had traded in their blue and grey jackets for distinctive Zouave-inspired finery. While the elaborate pants, brilliant sashes and exotic turbans were difficult to maintain in the field, the members of Zouave regiments relished their distinctive appearance. In fact, many ordinary Federal units were granted permission to ‘go Zouave’ as a reward for bravery in battle.

Unfortunately, in an era of rifled muskets and accurate artillery, Zouave units made tempting targets for enemy gunners; the regiments suffered grievous casualties. Zouave units also fought harder than other units.

During the Battle of Second Manassas, the 5^th and 10^th New York volunteer regiments were decimated while holding off a Confederate attack on the Army of the Potomac’s right flank. In fact, the 500-man 5th sustained 90 percent casualties in 10 minutes during the two-day battle in August of 1862. No other unit suffered so many losses so quickly during war.

While their numbers dwindled as the fighting continued, Zouaves would serve in the Civil War right up to the bitter end. In fact, the last Union soldier killed in Virginia was supposedly a member of a Zouave outfit — the 155^th Pennsylvania.

The distinctive uniform would continue to appear in ceremonies and parades in the years after the war. The last Zouave regiment, a militia unit from Wisconsin, finally retired its famous garb in 1879.

Spanish Zouaves

While by the 1870s, the United States was saying au revoir to the last of its Berber-clad regiments, insurgents in Spain backing Carlos VII donned the famous uniform for their four-year fight for control of the that country’s throne. However, these “Carlist Zouaves” discarded the signature red pants for grey ones and replaced the fez or turban with a white beret.

Zouaves of Death

At least one regiment of Poles acquired the legendary uniform too. This particular unit fought in the ill-fated, anti-Russian uprising of 1863 under the name “the Zouaves of Death.” But instead of adopting decorative colours, the group opted for an all-black ensemble.

The brigade, which was raised by a sympathetic French army officer named Francois Rochebrune, operated as light infantry throughout the year-long January Uprising. Although suffering heavy casualties, the group managed to strike several blows against the Russians. In fact, they performed so well, Rochebrune was briefly considered to command the entire Polish rebellion.

Eventually, the insurgency was crushed and the members of the unit fled or were captured. Rochebrune returned to his homeland to later fight against the Prussians.

Vatican ‘Zuavi’

The Zouave’s traditional Islamic pedigree didn’t stop the Catholic Papal States of Rome from raising a brigade in its 1861 fight against the Italian reunificatio. The 4,500-strong French-speaking Zuavi Pontifici was remarkably diverse – being manned and officered by thousands of loyal Catholics from Ireland, Prussia, Spain, Poland and even Mexico, as well as the U.S. and French Canada.[1] It fought throughout the decade-long war for control of Italy, but was eventually defeated along with the Papacy in 1870. But it wasn’t over for the Zuavi Pontifici – they would fight again, this time in the Franco-Prussian War under the designation “Volunteers of the West.”

A to Zouave: Random Facts

• Two regiments of the palace guard of Ottoman Turkey adopted the distinctive Zouave uniform in the 1880s.
• During the Paraguayan War of 1864 to 1870, Brazil raised a unit of all-black Zouaves called the zuavos baianos. They saw little action.
• The famous fitted Zouave-style jacket that inspired so many 19^th century militaries was also adopted by well-dressed ladies of the 1850s and 1860s. Stylish women wore the short tunics over their full length dresses. While the trend became old hat by 1870 it came back with a vengeance in the 1890s.
• A well-known brand of rolling papers known as Zig Zag, which first appeared in France in the 1870s, still features a drawing of a Zouave as its iconic logo.
• While France’s Zouave units finally discarded their colourful garb early in the First World War, regiments continued to fight right up to the Armistice. In the interwar years, some outfits reintroduced their famous battledress for the parade square. Zouave units would fight again in World War Two and even help with the counterinsurgency in Algeria in the 1950s. The last of France’s Zouave formations was finally disbanded when Algeria won its independence in 1962. Owing to the Zouave’s distinction as the elite, some of France’s commando units continued to include ceremonial dress reminiscent of the North African regiments, however these traditions were finally retired completely in 2010.

(This article originally appeared on MilitaryHistoryNow.com on May 27, 2013)