| Papal Zouaves | |
|---|---|
| Zuavi Pontifici | |
 Papal Zouavec. 1865 | |
| Active | January 1861 – September 1870 |
| Country |  Papal States |
| Allegiance | Pope Pius IX |
| Branch | Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Engagements | |
| Commanders | |
| Commander | Eugène Allet |
ThePapal Zouaves (Italian:Zuavi Pontifici) were aninfantry battalion (later regiment) dedicated to defending thePapal States. Named after the Frenchzouave regiments, theZuavi Pontifici were mainly young men, unmarried andCatholic, who volunteered to assistPope Pius IX in his struggle against theItalian unificationist Risorgimento.[1]
The Zouaves evolved out of a unit formed byLouis Juchault de Lamoricière on 23 May 1860, the 'Company ofFranco-BelgianTirailleurs'.[2][1] The company was quickly increased to an 8-company battalion by amalgamating the Tirailleurs with another volunteer unit, the 'Crusaders ofCathelineau'.[1]
On 1 January 1861 the unit was renamed the Papal Zouaves, after already proving themselves in 1860.[3][1] The name had been introduced byXavier de Mérode.[4] TheAlmoner was Mgr.Edouard de Woelmont.[5]
The unit was commanded by the Swiss colonel Eugène Allet (1814–1878), fromLeuk, who had previously served in thePontifical Swiss Guard underPope Gregory XVI.[6] All orders were given in French.[7]
From 1867 to 1868, the Papal Zouaves increased their strength from that of a single battalion to a four-battalion regiment, each battalion having six active and onedepot company.[1]
Initially, the French and Belgian unit was mostly composed of young aristocrats and gentlemen.[1] Later on, the unit was truly international, and by May 1868 numbered 4,592 men.[8] A British volunteer, Joseph Powell, noted in his account of his service with the Papal Zouaves that at least three individuals of African descent and one person fromChina served in the Zouaves.[7]
| Ethnicity of the people | No. of people |
|---|---|
| Dutch | 1,910 |
| French | 1,301 |
| Belgians | 686 |
| Italians (Romans andPontifical subjects) | 157 |
| Canadians | 135 |
| Irish | 101 |
| Germans (Prussians) | 87 |
| English | 50 |
| Spaniards | 32 |
| Germans (beyond Prussia) | 22 |
| Swiss | 19 |
| Americans | 14 |
| Italians (Neapolitans) | 14 |
| Italians (Modenese) | 12 |
| Poles | 12 |
| Scots | 10 |
| Austrians | 7 |
| Portuguese | 6 |
| Italians (Tuscans) | 6 |
| Maltese | 3 |
| Russians | 2 |
| South Sea Islands | 1 |
| India | 1 |
| Africa | 1 |
| Mexico | 1 |
| Peru | 1 |
| Circassia | 1 |
Between February 1868 and September 1870, the number of Canadian volunteers, mainly from theFrancophone and majority Catholic province ofQuebec, rose to seven contingents numbering some 500 men in total – with a contingent of 114 turning back to Canada because news had reached them of the surrender of the Papal States in September 1870.[9]
In addition to involvement in the suppression of brigandage between 1864 and 1868, the Papal Zouaves were employed in humanitarian relief when a cholera epidemic devastatedAlbano during early 1867. All members of two companies of the 1st Battalion were decorated by Pope Pius IX for their work in burying the dead and tending to the infected.[10]
One thousand five hundred Papal Zouaves assisted in the notable Franco-Papal victory at theBattle of Mentana, fought on 3 November 1867 between French-Papal troops and Italian volunteers led byGiuseppe Garibaldi.[11]
In his report to the Pope, the commander of the Papal forces, General Kanzler, praised the elan of the Zouaves, citing a determined bayonet charge as a particular example.[12]
The Zouaves suffered the brunt of the fighting, sustaining 81 casualties in the battle, including 24 killed (the Papal forces suffered only 30 dead in total) and 57 wounded.[13] The official French report of the battle prepared by the French commander,General de Failly, also cited the bravery of the Papal Zouaves.[14] The youngest victim, aged seventeen, was English Zouave Julian Watts-Russell.[15]
The Zouaves also played a role in the final engagements against the forces of the newly united Kingdom of Italy in September 1870, in which the Papal forces were outnumbered almost seven to one.[16] The Zouaves fought off enemy lancers on the 13th,[17] withdrew with Papal artillery under heavy fire on the 20th[18] and made preparations for a counterattack against the Italians before being told of the surrender at theCapture of Rome.[19]
Several Zouaves were executed or murdered by the Italian forces following the surrender, including a Belgian officer who refused to give up his sword.[16][20]
After being disbanded, veterans of the Papal Zouaves fought on in other units, for example, on the side of theCarlists in theThird Carlist War[21] and on the side of the French in theFranco-Prussian War.[22]
After theCapture of Rome byVictor Emmanuel in 1870, 760 French soldiers of the disbanded Papal Zouaves, led by Colonel de Charette, offered the FrenchGovernment of National Defense their service.[22] They were renamed asLégion de Volontaires de l’Ouest (Legion of the Volunteers of the West)[1] and, by 7 October 1870, the contingent, composed of 64 officers, 1,620 men, 80 cavalry, 80 gunners, was organised into:[22]
While retaining their grey and red Papal uniforms, the Zouaves fought the Prussians and their other German allies outsideOrléans, with 15 killed or wounded between 11 and 12 October 1870, and also engaged the enemy at Patay.[23] Expanded to two battalions totalling about 1,800 men,[24] the new force with its experienced core of former Papal Zouaves fought with distinction at theBattle of Loigny where the 2nd Battalion charged with the bayonet, losing 216 out of 300 men (18 officers and 198 men) while covering the retreating and shattered16th Corps.[22] TheVolontaires were armed withChassepots andRemingtons.[22] The unit was disbanded after the entrance of Prussian troops into Paris.[citation needed]
Some Spanish Papal Zouaves fought on the Catalan Front as the Carlist Zouaves (Spanish:Zuavos Carlistas), commanded byAlfonso de Borbón, the brother of the CarlistKing Carlos VII, who asked him to enter the Catalan front, naming him General in Chief of the Zouaves.[21] The Carlist Zouaves were also joined by many of the young aristocrats who previously fought side by side in Rome with the Infante Alfonso for the pontifical cause.[21]
The Zouaves wore a similar style of uniform to that of the FrenchZouaves but in grey with red trim.[1] A grey and redkepi was normally substituted for the North Africanfez, while a blackbusby with whiteplume was worn forparade dress.[1]
There are a number of monuments to the Papal Zouaves, including a Dutch museum near theOudenbosch Basilica,[25] the Mass chapel in Rome'sCapuchin Crypt and a monument in theLateran.[26]
The names of the 507 Canadian Papal Zouaves are engraved in gold letters on marble slabs inMontreal’sMary, Queen of the World.[27] Also in Montreal, a miniature silver ship was hung from the ceiling of Our Lady of Succor chapel by Papal Zouaves as anex-voto to thank the Virgin Mary after they escaped a shipwreck.[28]
The Zouaves are mentioned inVictor Hugo's poemMentana.[29]
A bombing of the Zouave barracks atPalazzo Serristori, Rome, is the start of the 1977 filmIn the Name of the Pope King.[30]
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