Zouave Uniforms

[The Last Observer]

How late in the war did zouave units wear their characteristic clothing?

I've read that as the war went on, clothing among American units became simpler and more mass-produced, with the knee-length coat giving way to the nine-button shell jacket and then the four-button sackcloth jacket. At the same time, the number of units designated "zouave" increased, for example the 140th and 146th New York were renamed to be zouaves in recognition of their courage late in the war. Presumably they would not have been issued with the flamboyant uniforms worn early in the war, or if they were then they wouldn't have been able to maintain them for long.

Any information would be interesting, and references to sources would be particularly interesting.

 

[JulieWeathers]

Some Tigers did wear the blue-and-white striped trousers; however I have read that each company of the Tiger zouaves wore different uniforms. That must have made for a headache.

It did. In the journal I was reading about First Manassas (Bull Run) and Stuart holding, it didn't state why the confusion about whether the Zouaves he was focused on were Confederates or Union, but he wanted to make sure before he attacked. Jackson knew them to be Union because he spoke about those "red legs" coming back. Stuart had been held back until the afternoon and wasn't with Jackson, though. It was a while before uniforms were anywhere near standard.