Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-07-30
THE SPECIAL CORPS OF THE
FRENCH ARMY.

BESIDES the zouaves, of which descrip-
lion mas lately geen gwen, the French
army contains the following special corps:
THE zEPHYRs.
They resemble the zouayes in their
uniforms, arms, and equipment, and their
organization aud drill are almost the same:
but while the zouaves are proud corps
and believe in military honor, such is by
no means the case with the zepbyrs
Ihey are simply q corps of culprits and
Jail-blrds. Ii q soldier of the French
army commits vulgar and disbouorinq
crime, that is, if he robs, steals.
Cheats, or proves to be cow
ard, he is condemned to serve on the cal
| Ieys; but IL he only commits what might
be termed genteel crime, that is, if he
commits manslaughter, or ravishes a
woman, or is insubordinate then he is
condemned 10 serve in the corps of the
zephyrs. They are permanently stationed
In Africa, and the discipline among these
rather dangerous and desperate charac-
tiers is terribly severe. Every officer has
the right to kill zephyr on the spot
should he show the least sign of insubor-
dinatiou, and to this circumstance they owe
their name, which they have adopted |
themselves, to express thereby of how |
little value their lives are, which at any
time might die out like zephyr. Their
official appellation is Corps of Punish
ment, and they now number several thou
sand men. They paint themselves with
blue ink all over their bodies in the most
fantastical manner, and even the hardest
TntIpicbropnt 0O,rl6 or 81 to |
singular amusement to which they seem
to have taken, because they are not per-
mitted to have cats and get no pay. When
Gen. Pelissier was offered the command
in the Crimea he accepted it only under
the condition that the Zephyrs would &C.
company him there, and that if they
should behave well, they were to be par
doned and permitted to return to their
regiments. They were sent there and
their success was complete.
In the battle near Tracts, the Rus
slams had formed square which the Sar- !
dinian cavalry had vainly attacked, when
Gen. Bosquet, who then commanded them, I
advanced the Zephyrs
Some English officers requested himnot S
o sacrifice his men uselessly, but Gen.
Bosquet made them a speech, which
"You sons of he'll" and
closed with "forward to the attack" With 81
he warcry, TiUe la Mort, instead of a
me Emperor, they swept into and n
'Yer the Russian bayonets like whirl- "
Wind, and soon their yatsghans had made a
UGH terrible havoc in the Russian lines ri
hat the most desperate exertions of the "
russian officers were unable. to avert de- Of
eat. lii
THE CHAssEURs D'AFRIQUE. b
These are cavalry corps consisting of a
our regiments. They carry q long rife, st
NO reyolvers, and sword, and are ali as
lounted on select horses of the best Bar OF
airy blood. Their continuous service in bl
.frica amongst and against the Bedouins le
as made them superior riders, and they VI
erform all the feats on horseback in
hich the sons of the desert excel; and 70
III ride at full gallop, turn in the saddle, OF
I'd ire to the rear with precision They tel
so distinguished themselves during the tn
rlmean war. General .Allonvily, who co
corps of 1900 Chasseurs ha
Antique, attacked with them 1900 Go
ussian dragons, the favorite cavalry up
rps of the Emperor Nicholas, on the thi
ain of Simferopel, and defeated them a !
completely that their commander, Gen. so
)rff, committed suicide from shame. on
THE TURCOS AND sPAHIs. the
These are native African or Algerian gO'
rps, and consist exclusively of Yolun- III
FRS. The Turcos are light infantry and
me more particularly from the noun
in regions of Algeria
Thd Spahis are a cavalry CORPS, and are sta
cruited amongst the Bedouins. Both a C
e Turcos andSpahis are Mohammedans, it {
{ their officers are mostly Frenchmen. by
1t they are not at all prohibited, on re- be
ious grounds, from advancing to the VIII
CHEST military positions, and one of we
EN-, Gen. Jussuff, now occupies high /
sitiop in the French army. There are of
rec regiments of Turcos, or about TO- rec
0 men, and three regiments of Spahi S, sui
about 8, 600 men. Bo!
THE FOREIGN LEGION. NiC
There is at present but one regiment in
stence containing representatives of Nit
nationalities. The officers are half Sol
ench, half from other European ma Sol
nalities. In their contracts with the h
ench Government, it is distinctly un- Pho
stood that they are not obliged to Pot
We outside of Algeria, and particularly |
against their respective native coun- 8
IS But they fought, nevertheless, in (am
Crimea in Lombardy, and in Mex bic
. -.-- tasf