New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-08-04
FRANCES PET s0LDIERs.



The Zephyrs, the Chasseurs. d,Asriaue,
Turcos and 6pahIs. %9A@~
re- From the New York World.
Besides the Zouaves, Of which descrip-
ton has lately been given, the French
army contains the following special corps:
THE zEPHYRs.
They resemble the ZOuaves in their uni
forms, arms and equipment, and their or
ganizatiOn and 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 Zephyrs. They are
simply corps of culprits and jail-birds. 1t
soldier OF the French army commits
vulgar and dishOnoring crime-that Is, II he
rObs, steals, cheats or proves to be q cow
ard-he is condemned to serve on the gal
leys; but if he only commits what might be
termed a genteel crime, that's, If he commits
granddaughter, or ravages woman, or Is
insubOrdinate then he is condemned to
serve in the corps of the zephyrs. They
are permanently stationed in Africa, and
the discipline among these rather dangerous
and desperate characters is terribly severe.
Every officer has the right to kill zephyr
on the spot should he show the least sign OF
INSTRUMENTATION, 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 a zephyr.
Their official appellatiOn is Corps OF Punish
ment, and they now number several thOus-
and men, They paint themselves with
blue ink all over their bodies in the most
fantastical manner, and even the hardest
punishment could not put stop to this
singular amusement to which they seem to
have taken, because they are not permitted
to have cats, and get nOpay. When General
Pelissier was offered the command in the
Crimea he accepted it only under the con-
dition that the zephys would accompany
him there, and that, if they should behave
well, they were to be pardOned and permit
ted to return to their regiments. They were
sent there, and their success was complete.
In the battle near Tractic, the Russians
had formed q square which the Sandman
cavalry had vainly attacked, when General
BOsquet, who then commanded, them ad-
vanced the zephyrs.
Some English officers requested him not
to sacrifice his men uselessly, but General
BOsquet made them a speech which COM
menced, '.YOu sons Of hell and closed
with forward to the attack" With the
war cry Vice la Mort, instead of Tire fEm-
pereur, they swept into and over the Rus
sian bayOnets like whirlwind and soon
their yataghans had made such terrible
havoc in the Russian lines that the most
OAAAS~NS
were unable to avert defeat.
THE CHAssEURs D'AFRIQUE.
These are cavalry corps consisting Of
four regiments They carry long rifle, two
revOlvers. and sword and are all mounted
on select horses of the best Barbary blood.
Their continuous service in Africa amongst
and against the Bedouins, has made them
superior riders. and they perform all the
feats on horseback in which the sons OF the
desert excel, and will ride at full gallOp,
turn in the saddle and fire to the rear with
precision. They also distinguished them
selves during the Crimean war. General
AllOnvily, who commanded a corps of 1900
Chasseurs d'Afrique, attacked with them
$4,000 Russian dragons, the favorite cav
airy corps of the Emperor Nicholas, ON the
plain field of SimferopOl, and defeated them
SO completely that their commander, Gen
eral Corff, committed suicide from shame.
THE TURCos AND sPAHIs.
These are native African or Algerian
corps, and consist exclusively Of volunteers.
The TurcOs are light infantry, and come
more particularly from the mountain re-
gions Of Algeria.
The Spahis are a cavalry corps, and are
recruited among the Bedouins. Both the
TurcOs and Spahis are Mohamedans, but
their officers are mostly Frenchmen. But
they are not at all prohibited, on religious
ground, from advancing TO the highest mill
tary positions, and one of them, General
Jussuff, now occupies high position in the
French army. There are three regiments
of Turcos, or about 10.500 men, and three
regiments Of Spahis, or about 5000 men.
THE FOREIGN LEGION.
There is at present but one regiment in
existence, containing representatives of all
nationalities. The words of command are
given in French. The officers are half
French, half from ether European nation
alities. In their contracts with the French
government it is distinctly understood that
they are not obliged to serve outside of
Algeria, and particularly not against their
respective native countries. But they
fought, nevertheless. in the Crimea, in LOm
hardy and in Mexico.