In a message dated 7/12/2001 1:03:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time, Paul and Mary McElroy" mimi_3@msn.com writes: > I have recently discovered I have an ancestor who fought in the Civil War > from Pennsylvania. He was a member of a group known as the ZOUAVES > (possibly French ZOUAVES). Is any one on this list familiar with this > group ? > Zouave units, which normally were Companys of 100 men, out of a Regiment of 1000, give or take. were fielded from many states. They are called Zouave units because of the flamboyant uniforms they wore. Very colorful jackets and balloon pants, copied after French military uniforms, but many with very individual styles. Normally a unit had to distinguish themselves in battle before being allowed to wear a Zouave uniform. The "Fighting Irishmen" Pennsylvania 69th Volunteer Infantry, from Philadelphia, Company C (IIRC) was one such unit that were Zouaves. Opinions varied as to whether these uniforms were more or less comfortable than the regular issue. For your ancestor's military records, you need to find out the number of the Regiment, and the Company letter. There were also different Regiments based on whether they were Infantry, Cavalry or Artillery. You can find your ancestor listed from Pennsylvania in a series of volumes (20 volumes IIRC) called "Bates" found in larger libraries, (Philadelphia's main Free Library for example) and some historical societies. Bates gives dates of service and units that each "Volunteer" served in. (Starting in 1863, "volunteers" were drafted too. My ggranddad, with a wife, 3 sons and a butcher business, was one of those.) You can learn more about Zouave units from several Civil War books found at bookstores or in your local library. Jim Lawrence (from Parkland, Pa.) Researching Philadelphia surnames: (paternal) Lawrence/Lorentz/Lorenz, Huess, Hotz, Gunzler, Kugler, Goodman/Gutmann, Sweitzer, Etley, Kubler/Cubbler, Moehrle (maternal) Marlin, Musselman, Frock, Harrop, Morgenroth & Bauer. Associated Philadelphia families: (paternal) Frick, Unbehend, Speel, Linninger, Dannecker, Carter, Curwin, Geyer, Chapman, Gravenstine, Heimer, Hays, Duff, Hoskins, Lake, Evans, Clark, Graham, Frenchmaker, White & Adair (maternal) Ball, Schafer, Spicer, Bythway, Cooney & dozens of others. SAR #153101 for Philadelphia Revolutionary War soldiers: Johannes Lorentz, Christian Lorentz, Johann Michael Hotz & Charles Kugler. Researching following German towns & names: Niederhausen, Pfalz: Lorentz, Lauer & Pistorius; Wertheim, Wurtemburg: Hotz, Conrad, Engelhard, Sauer & Klein; Grossgartach, Wurtemburg: Kugler, Hoffman, Flinspach, Heller & Schoeckinger; Grossbreitenbach, Thuringia: Morgenroth; Erdmannhausen, Wurtemburg: Bauer. See my genealogy webpages: http://www.familytreemaker.com/users/l/a/w/James-Harry-Lawrence/index.html http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=lorentz1 Also see my genealogy at Ancestry.com.