Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1859-07-26
MISCELL A N Y .
The ZOuayes.

world. Their deeds in the Ormea and IN Italy
leave no doubt on this point. Formed original
Is of the most desperate and reckless ganans OF
Paris. trained in Algeria to compete on 1901
with the impetuous Arab on horseback, lnureo
to every hardship and practised daily IN gymnas
tic exercises, such as running, leaplng, running
on the hands and feet, fencing with the oayonet
exercises resembling more the teats OF the atn d,
lete of the Olympian games than the rigid drlll
of The modern solder-it is not to be wondered
that the Zouaves have performed miracles on eV
ery field of battle where they have appeared ana
made their name the synonym of all that Is ter
rible and daring. With their shaven foreheads,
their long boards, their strange oaths borrowed
from the Arabic, their complexons burnt oy
tropical suns, their wild, jovial, devil-may-care
de,neanor, their lofty esprit de corps which de-
rides the existence OF fear or fatigue, they pre-
sent the strange spectacle of semi-savages born
and reared in the very heart of civilization
They are indeed the children of Bellona, the god
dess of war-6tted to the performance OF bloody
deeds, utterly unfit for the sober duties OF lie.
For this matchess body of soldiery, the right
arm of her service, France is indebted to the
wars which attended the conquest of Algeria
1t was there that system OF tactics unlike any
thing in civilized warfare was originated. The
nature of the foe with whom the French had to
contend and the topography of the country in
which the contests took place, made this new
system of tactics matter not of choice but oi
necessity. Horsemen mounted upon steeds
swifter than the wind and obedient to the slight
est touch of the rein or tie simple word OF their
riders and coursng singly or in small groups
over sandy plains, could not be encountered in
pitched battle. Hence the French soldier was
taught to creep on his belly, to run like an ante
lope from hilock to hillock of sand, to throw
himself Hat on his face behind the slight barriers
afforded by the uneven surface OF the desert, and
n the moment of falling to fire on the enemy
that swept by like simeon. And because the
clumsy matchbox, in the hands of the Bedonn
was the deadliest of instruments, Frenchmer
were instructed, for the first time, in the use OF
the rifle, weapon demanding precision OF aim
a steadiness and deliberation in firing unknown
in the days Of muskets.
When the conquest of Algeria was completed
there was returned to France body OF mer
which, for efficiency, rapidity, endurance, and
reckless courage, had no equal in all the armies
of Europe. These were the ZouaVes, with as ye'
only preliminary training. Conscious of theil
superiority, they determined to maintain it,
Lest they might lose the pliancy of limb and the
toughness of muscle acquired in Africa, they made
barrack-life brisk and healthful by substituting
in the place of the formal drill the gylnnastic
exercises already mentioned. They not only
held their own, but added to their efficiency
To the arts of skirmishing running, leaping
crawling-they added the art of bayonet-fenc-
| ing, by which they accomplished such wonders
of late, when encountering, hand to hand, men
I nassed in columns. Their bayonets are made
sharp as razors, and in their hands possess the
power of the ''single stick" combined with the
suppleness of the rapier The art of boxing with
the feet is peculiar to France, has long been
practised there, and in this also the Zouave has
been instructed, so that in personal recontre his
fret act is to parry the weapon of his opponent,
his second to PROSTATE him by kick in the
breast, his third to stab him to death with the
keen bayonet. All this is the work OF minute.
Hence the statement made by correspon-
dent of the Journal des De5ats affords little
matter for surprise. He says that "the divi-
sions Siia and Jellachich, counting not less than
10000 men" (or rather youths-for another
statement asserts that most OF them were only
16, II, 1S years old) covered by deep canal,
protected by height, and defended by battery
which had been admirably placed, were COM
pletely overwhelmed by three battalions of Zou
aves." The statement of major who was ta-
ken prisoner explains this seeming miracle
1--WE cannot understand il" said he; 1--WE were
sure that our position was impregna6e. But
when we saw these men run up toward our guns
then sweeping them with grape, leap into the
canal, climb the bank, and then charge upon us
without firing shot, our battalions trembled
like flock of sheep attacked by wolf. Moth
ing controlled them, neither orders nor threats; I;
they ran. And still these soldiers are brave and
disciplined. They would stand all day under fire
without fnching; but this sort of attack-this
beginning with the bayonet-terrifes them. As
! said, do not understand it az all" The ex-
tent OF the panic occasoned by the Zouave
charge may be gathered from the assertion that
sat this same battle on the Slst, soldiers were
seen to fall on their knees, with the muzzles of
their muskets on the ground, and to remain there
as il paralyzed."
II is TO he feared that the glory of the British
bayonet, so long the boast Of the English peo.
Dle. is ecipsed. What is the mere momentum
of a body Of heavy men, compared to the ilnpet.