The Zouave Drill Book
One of the first deaths of the American Civil War was that of Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth. A close friend of Abraham Lincoln, Ellsworth had been able to see a Confederate flag in Alexandria across the water from him in Washington for a number of months. At the outbreak of war, he took his chance to show the rebels the error of their ways and set out to remove the flag. Upon arriving at the house, a skirmish occurred and he was killed. He was the first casualty for the Union cause. Before his untimely death however, he had introduced to the New York militia the Zouave troops, a collection of men who followed a more flamboyant and practised style of infantry fighting than the volunteer-led Union army. The document featured here, the Zouave Drill Book, was created by Ellsworth to train his new troops in a style of fighting taken from history. Despite his death, the American Zouaves fought on both sides of the American Civil War and would have practised the very fighting style seen in this fascinating, and highly illustrated, drill book.
The French had used Zouaves in their colonial empire; they were a specialist unit of French Algerians and were used until Algerian independence in 1962, having seen fighting in both the First and Second World Wars. Zouaves were also to be encountered in Italy and Poland, as well as other parts of the world. Noticeable about the Zouave units were their often flamboyant costume, their developed fighting style and their unique military tactics. Zouaves were known for being colorful, light on their feet and practisers of light infantry tactics. As seen in this drill book, they would use their full body in tactical manoeuvres that were designed to dispatch the enemy swiftly and with style.
The Zouave uniform consisted of baggy pantaloons, white leggings, a 10 foot long sash, a tight fitting short jacket and at times a fez and turban (depending on the unit). This outfit, though impressive, was unwieldy and occasionally required help to put on. It was also expensive, which was the reason for the small size of the units. As the war dragged on, many units had to abandon their uniforms, though they did not abandon their fighting style.
The Union army was notable for its large volunteer faction, with an initial 75,000 volunteers marching alongside the regular army. These volunteer units did not have the experience or training that the Regular army had; it is therefore notable that a number of Zouave units, often made up of volunteers, found themselves becoming part of the elite fighting units. The 5th New York Zouaves and the 10th New York National Zouaves served a crucial part at the Second Battle of Bull Run and the 14th Brooklyn were nicknamed ‘Red Legged Devils” due to a shouted warning from Stonewall Jackson. This increased skill and involvement in key battles did mean one of the highest percentages in casualties. Theatrical, talented and often voluntary, the tradition of the Civil War Zouave unit persisted until the end of the War and Zouave units are faithfully represented in commemorations and re-enactments to this day.
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