Lot Essay
"During the 1830s, Zouave tribesmen in North Africa were left in charge of a colonial garrison by the French. Their administration was so successful that they were incorporated into the French Army and became its most notable colonial soldiers. This man wears a Zouave uniform of the same type worn by other European armies, such as those who fought in the Crimean War and was worn by the Papal Zouaves in defense of the Papal States in 1860... Early in the Civil War, President Lincoln's friend Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth toured the United States with his regiment of Fire Zouaves, creating a sensation wherever they performed their acrobatic feats." (Wilson, p. 112.)