"The Fighting Peacocks – A Brief and Colourful History..." Topic

… of Zouaves.

"IN TODAY'S WORLD of disruptive pattern camouflage, ghillie suits and stealth technology, the idea of marching into combat in brilliant red silk pants, a vivid blue tunic adorned with fancy embroidering and shiny gold buttons all topped off by a garish fez or turban seems quaint, anachronistic, even foolhardy. But that's exactly what France's famous Zouave regiments wore into battle in the mid-19th Century.

And oddly enough, a number of other armies around the world were so taken by the dazzling spectacle of the North African-inspired uniforms, as well as the exotic pomp embodied by the Zouaves, they rushed to raise their own copycat regiments. 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 5th New York Volunteer Infantry and the Louisiana Tigers for example. But America wasn't the only country to embrace the 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…"
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