The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-08-02
WAR TOPICS.
two armies

The Special Corps OF the French Army.
Besides the zouaves, of which description
has lately been given, the French army con-
talns the following special corps:
THE zEPHYRs.
E They resemble the zouaves in their uni
forms, arms and equipment, and their orGanl-
.zation and drill are almost the same; but while
the zouaves are a proud corps, and believe IN
with the zephyrs They are simply corps Of
cu!prits and jail-birds. If soldier OF the
French army commits vulgar and dlshonor-
inc crime, that Is if he robs. steals, cheats or
proves to be q coward, he is condemned to
serve OIL the galleys; but ii he only commits
what might be termed genteel crime, that
Isl If he commits manslaughter, or raYshes a
woman, or is insubordinate, then he is
condemned to serve In the corps Of
the zephyrs. They are permanently sta
toned in Africa, and the discipline
among these rather dangerous and
5esperate characters is terribly severe. Every
officer has the right to kill zephyr on the
spot should he show the least sign OF insubor-
dination, and to this circumstance they owe
their name, which they have adopted them
selves, to express thereby of how little value
their lives are, which at any time might die
ont like zephyr. Their official appellation Is
Corps of Punishment and they now number
several thousand men. They paint themselves
with blue ink all over their bodies In the most
fantastical manner, and even the hardest pun
ishment could not put stop to this singular
amusement, to which they seem to nave taken'
because they are not permitted TO have cats,
and get no pay. When General Pellssier was
offered the command in the Crimea he accept
ed 1t only under the condition that the zephyrS
would accompany him there, and that II they
should behave well, they were to be pardoned
and permitted to return to their regiments.
They were sent there and their success was
complete.
In the battle near Traktir the Russians had
formed square which the Sandman cavalry
had vanly attacked, when General Bosquet,
who then commanded them, advanced the ze-
phyrs.
sacrifice his men uselessly, but General Bos-
quet made them speech which commenced,
''You sons of HE'LL y and closed with forward
to the attack" with the war-cry, Vire Ia
into and over the Russian bayonets like a
whirlwlnd, and soon their yataghans had made
such terrible havoc in the Russian lines tnat
the most desperate eXert!ons o. The Russian
c!iica-s were unable to avert defeat.
TIE CuAssEuRs D'AFR!ouE.
These are cavalry corps consisting Of four
regiments They carry long rifle, two re-
volrers. and sword, and are all mounted on
select horses of the best Bsrbary blood. Their
continuous service in Africa amongst anu
against the Bedouins, has made them superb
riders, and they perform all the feats on horse,
bcck in which the sons OF the desert excel; anu
vii! ride at full gallop, turn in the saddle, and
fire TO the rear with precision. They also dis
tinguished themselves during the Crimean
war. General Allonvily, who commanded
corps of 1900 ChasseurS d'AfriQue, attacked
with them 1900 Russian dragons, the favor
ite cavalry corps of the Emperor Nicholas, on
the plain OF simferopol, and defeated them SO
completely that their commander. General
Corf, committed suicide from shame.
THE TURCos AND sPAuIS.
These are native African or Algerian corps,
and consist exclusively of volunteers. The
Turcos are light lniantry, and come more par
dcularly from the mountain regions Of Al
geria
The spahis are a cavalry corps, and are re-
crriited amongst the Bedouins. Both the Tur-
cos and Spahis are Mahomedans, but their Off.
GERS are mostly Frenchmel. But they are not
at all prohibited, on religious ground, from ad-