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Despite the fact the Ellsworth and his United States Zouave Cadets did not travel south during their 20-city tour in 1860, the Zouaves still managed to appear in smaller numbers in the Militia's of the Southern States prior to the start of the American Civil War. In the early days they were represented by the likes of the "Charleston Zouave Cadets" of South Carolina and the "Maryland Guard Zouaves." As to why these units appeared in the South is open to debate, however several of the Southern Zouave units were influenced by local residents who were either immigrants or in some cases were veterans of the French Army and the Zouaves themselves, and desired to carry on the traditions of their former units; Southern Zouaves certainly proved their metal in combat and provided good service. While in the north there were a large number of complete Zouave regiments the South did not have anywhere near that number, and most Zouave unit were only established at the company level; the only exception to this was the "Coppens Zouaves of Louisiana, which would eventually be designated by the Confederate Government as the First (1st) Confederate States Zouave Battalion, and would be the only Southern Zouave unit (larger than a company) to survive somewhat intact until the final days of the war. The majority of these units were organized in the early days of the war, and the uniforms adopted by them were as different as were those of the northern Zouaves. However unlike the Zouaves of the north, once their Zouave style of dress had worn out, it was not re-issued but was replaced by the standard Confederate uniforms. The following is a listing of those Zouave, Chasseur, and Trillauers units that were organized for service in the Confederate States Armed Forces between January of 1861 and June of 1865. Some of these units were organized with the name of Zouaves, Chasseur's or Trillauers, however did not always adopt the style of dress associated with those names, and in other cases some units did not refer to themselves as them, but did adopt the dress of the units. Where possible it will be endeavored to indicate if the unit was a “name only” unit or an actual unit. Any corrections, additional names that should be added, or any additional information is more than welcome and should be sent to the Webmaster.
The 1st Louisiana Zouaves Battalion, "Coppens Zouaves," at Pensacola, Florida, ca. 1861 |
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