Uniforms Canadian Zouave uniforms of the Civil War era.

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During the Civil War era nations other than the United States adapted Zouave uniforms. Photographs of these non U.S. Zouave uniforms can be confused with U.S. Zouaves. The Zouave uniform craze does not appear to have gained much steam in Canada. The only Canadian Zouave uniforms, worn during the Civil War, that I know of, was Company 5 of the Saint John Volunteer Battalion.

Known as The Zouaves, this company formed in December of 1862. They wore French blue Zouave jacket and vest, blue Zouave trousers and red French caps. The company continued to wear their Zouave style uniforms when the joined Saint John Volunteer Battalion as Company 5. If war had developed between the United States and Great Britain during the Civil War, this is the only Canadian Zouave company that may have become involved.
 
I am researching the history of the Zouaves for a while, many Papal Zouaves of French descent joined the ranks of the French army in the Franco-Prussian War, others joined the Carlist forces in the Carlist War of 1873 ) notably the former Papal Zouaves of Dutch origin. The Commander of the battalion of Carlist Zouaves, a Dutchman called "Ignacio Wills" (name from Spanish sources) fell there storming a town.
Franco-Canadian soldiers of the Papal Zouaves returned to Canada, they established a Canadian Zouave-movement. Some migrated in the 1870s to the northeastern staates of the US.
 
@Howitzer Would the veterans of the Papal Zouaves that joined the French Army have been able to join as a unit, retaining the title Papal Zouaves? I have developed an interest in the Papal Zouaves recently.

John
 
Athanase Charles Marie de Charette, 2e​ baron de La Contrie, born in 1832 was a grandson of the French king Charles X. A relative was genral Charette who once let the rising of the Vendée against the French revolutionary government. Charette the younger refused to seek a military career in the French imperial army, because his family was strictly anti-bonapartist. He joined the ranks of the army of the duchy of modena as an officers aspirant. When Modena was annexed by Piedmont-Sardinia, Charette went to Rome and offered his services to the pope. He was captain of a Company of Franco-Belgian Volunteers which became the Papal Zouaves. In 1867 he attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. The same year he fought the Garibaldi troops in the battle of Mentana and was victorious.
After Rome was conquered by the royal Italian army in September 1870, Charette embarqued with a great part of the Papal Zouaves heading for Marseilles. He started negotiations with Leon Gambetta, member of the French government, to bring his troops into French republican (!) service. His forces, two battalions (as far as I know), became the "Légion des volontaires de l'Ouest", they fought against German troops in the battle of Orleans (11th October 1870). The Zouaves retained their Papal army uniforms and fought under the Sacred-Heart-Banner. They were attached to the 17e​ corps d'armée. On the 2nd of December they played an active role in the battle of Loigny, Charette was wounded, he was made prisoner, but managed to escape. Charette was given the rank of general, he refused to take part in the crushing of the Paris Communards, not because he had any sympathy with them, but he didn´t want to fight French compatriots. The French government wanted to integrate Charette´s Zouaves into the new formed army as a regular corps, but Charette refused: his loyalty was first and foremost with Pope Pius.
As far as I know, quite a lot of Charette´s men went to Spain to join the Carlist forces, a battalion of Carlist Zouves was formed. Maybe I´ll find a picture.

La_bataille_de_Loigny_C_Castellani_(1879).jpg
 
That is, what I found out about Hugh Murray, a Canadian born (from an Irish family) Papal Zouave:

On 31 July 1861, having arrived at Rome, he donned the uniform of a Papal Zouave. On 21 November 1866 he was appointed sergeant second class. At Mentana (Italy), in the victory of French and Papal troops over the Garibaldians on 3 November 1867, Murray truly distinguished himself by his courage and was one of 57 wounded whom, in addition to 24 dead, the Papal column counted after the action. He was mentioned in regimental dispatches, soon received the cross of knight of the Order of Pope Pius IX, and was promoted second lieutenant on 4 April 1868. The Canadian Zouaves presented him with a sword, bearing an inscription on its blade: “To Second-Lieutenant Murray, knight of the Order of Pius IX, first Canadian officer, his compatriots.” he rteurned to Canada to recuperate from a wound. In 1873 he travelled to Spian to assume command of a 400 man strong unit of volunteers from Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands. In February 1874 he died in battle somewhere in the north of Spain during the siege of Manresa or under the walls of Bilbao.
I mean, could have been for Miles Keogh of Little-Bighorn-fame if he hadn´t been recruited into the Union ranks.
 
Just an addition: two pictures of Polish Zouaves. As far as I know, there is no personal connection between them and Civil War Zouaves, their commander Rochebrune once had been a Zouave in French service. He died in 1871 as a battalion commander of French national guards wearing his old Polish Zouave uniform (all black with a great white cross).

Zouaven des Todes, in der Mitte Rochebrune.jpg


polnische Zouaven 1863.PNG
 
Colonel Lionel Jobert D´Epineuil, who commanded the 53rd New York Volunteer Regiment (" D´Epineuil´s Zouaves") in an abysmal way, boasted himself with his 17 years of service in the French army, which is highly unlikely, he was just in his early 30s when he arrived in the USA. To my knowledge there is no noble French family with the name of "D´Epineuil", the correct spelling is - by the way - d´Epineuil. Épineuil is a small town in the Bourgogne region of France, there is an even smaller Épineuil in the Loire valley region. I could´t find any Lionel Jobert D´Epineuil as an officer of the French army in all my sources. But in 1859 the Haitian state appointed a certain "Lionel Jobert" as the headmaster of the Naval School of the small Haitian Navy. A letter adressed to "Lionel Jobert" with Haitian stamps and dated 14th of May 1860 surfaced at a French auction. My assumption is, that this "Lionel Jobert" and Lionel Jobert D´Epineuil are the same person.​
 
Quite contrary to D´Epineuil was Felix Agnus, a fine officer who rose to the Brevet rank of Brigadier General. He served in the 5th New York Volunteers and the 165th New York Volunteers, both Zouave units.
He had already fought with a French Zouave unit, the 3eme regiment de Zouaves, in northern Italy against the Autro-Hungarian Army. Some sources state, that Agnus fought at Montebello. But the 3eme regiment de Zouaves didn´t participate in that battle, they fought in the Battle of Palestro on 31st May. All Zouave officers received royal Piedmontese medals for their achievements there.
 
Addition to the post about Felix Agnus: the 3eme regiment de Zouaves (commanded by Colonel Chabron) was the only French unit that fougt at Palestro, but they played a decisive part. According to tradition they saved King Vittorio Emanuelle II, the first King of unified Italy later on, from being killed or captured (pictures attached).

Le_3e_régiment_de_Zouaves_à_Palestro.jpg


Battaglia di Palestro.jpg
 
Two more interesting photos: Don Alfonso Carlos (full name: Don Alfonso Carlos Fernando José Juan Pío de Borbón y Österreich-Este) was born in 1849 and died in 1936. He was claimant to the thrones of Spain and (theoretically) France. As amember of a noble family of such high socila rank, he could have joint the Papal Zouaves as an subaltern or officers cadet, he refused to do so and joined as a private in 1868. 1869 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. In 1870 with the Italian army conquering Rome Pope Pius gave the order to offer only token resistance, Don Alfonso Carlos wasn´t willing to give up his sword and managed to get out of Rome. In 1871 he married in Bavaria (wearing his Zouave uniform) a Portuguese princess, Maria das Neves, who was highly attractive and intelligent and had a good sense of humour. The couple´s only child died just a short time after birth.
In the Third Carlist War 1872 - 1876 he commanded a Carlist field army on behalf of his elder brother. His wife Maria accompanied him and doing so attracted a lot of foreign correspondents to Alfonso´s camp.
As a guard of honor Don Alfonso established a battalion of Carlist Zouaves, quite a lot former Papal Zouaves joining. This battalion transformed into an elite force often leading Carlist attacks.
Photographs from this time show Don Alfonso Carlos wearing a uniform British Victorian style and a red beret which was worn by the officers of the Carlist Zouaves (the men wore white berets). However the red beret later became trademark for the 20th century Carlist movement. Don Alfonso, who was highly courageous, pious, with a strong sense for duty, always cared for those serving under his command.
In his last days Don Alfonso Carlos gave the Spanish Carlists his permission to join forces with General Franco in the Spanish Civil War.

Don Alfonso Carlosbei seiner Heirat mit Maria Das Neves.jpg


Don Alfonso Carlos de Borbón als päpstlicher Zouave.jpg
 
@Howitzer I received your pm and thank you very much! The instructions say I should reply this way I believe, (I am not we'll versed in computer procedures to say the least). Very interesting stuff.

in addition to all the information you have posted, I really enjoyed all the photos!

John
 
The British Empire had only a slight flirt with Zouves. The two West India Regiment received Zouave uniforms in the late 1850s under the impression of the Crimean war. The officers wore standard tropical uniforms of the British army. Neither regiment attched the title "Zouaves". With the amalgamation of the regiments the Zouave uniforms disappeared.
But even today there is something left: The Barbados Defence Force and the Jamaica Defense Force trace their origins back to the West India Regiments. The Barbados Defence Force Band and the Jamaica Defense Force Band still wear Zouave style uniformes on formal occassion.
 
Canadian Papal Zouaves: In 1861 the Bishop of Montreal, Bishop Ignace Bourget, made an appeal in the form of a series of pastoral letters in order to raise troops for the Papal state. Some Franco-canadians reacted, the first Canadian recruit was Benjamin Testard de Montigny. In 1867 the news of the battle of Mentana, where a Canadian Zouave had been wounded, reached Canada and sparked a wave of sentiment for the Popish cause. In 1868 135 men were sent to Rome. All in all 507 men were recruited, 388 made it to Rome. The last contingent of 114 men (there were 7 contingents at all) was stopped in France by the Franco-Prussian War and was still on its way when Rome fell to the royal Italian forces.
The Canadians didn´t form a battalion of their own, they were distributed among existing Zouave formations. Those who were made prisoners by the Italian army were freed by an intervention of Queen Victoria, after all these men were British subjects.
A surviving uniform has been donated to the Canadian War Museum (photo attached).

A kind of breeding ground for the Canadian volunteer movement were the milices collègiales that had sprung up in Quebec.

Papal Zouave uniform.jpg
 
I couldn´t find out much about the background of John E. Bendix, Colonel of the 10th New York Volunteer Regiment (McChesney Zouaves or National Guard Zouaves) from September 1861.
He was born on a steamboat on the St. Lawrence River to partenst of German origin, went to Germany with his parents and come back to the USA in his teens.
"Bendix" isn´t a common German name, most likely his family was originally called "Bendicki", common in the Polish speaking provinces of the Prussian kingdom.
 
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