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Zouave jacket
From the collection of National Museum of American History. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Both the Confederate and Union armies boasted regiments of fierce Zouave fighters. The origin of the Zouave military tradition lies in North Africa with the Berbers. During the French colonization of Algeria in the 1830s, French forces came in contact with Berber fighters who sported stunning uniforms and fighting prowess. French soldiers adapted the Zouave-styled uniform and with their victories in the Crimean Wars in the mid-1850s, military units in the United States were styling themselves as Zouave soldiers.
National Museum of American History’s own descriptionCredit lineZouave jacket. 1861-1865. National Museum of American History, U.S. War Department. CC0.
