The 73rd New York Infantry Regiment was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. The regiment was organized in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in May 1861, originally under the designation the Fourth Excelsior Regiment, as a

Zouave The Zouaves were a class of light infantry regiments of the French Army serving between 1830 and 1962 and linked to French North Africa; as well as some units of other countries modelled upon them. The zouaves were among the most decorated unit ...

regiment, known for its unusual dress and drill style. The uniform worn by this regiment consisted of a dark blue chasseur jacket with light blue trim and light blue trefoils on each sleeve, sky blue chasseur trousers with two white stripes down each leg, brown leather gaiters, a light blue kepi with a dark blue band and dark blue piping, and a red Zouave fez with a blue tassel as a fatigue cap. Drawn from the ranks of the city's many volunteer fire companies, the unit was known alternately as the Second Fire Zouaves, after the 11th New York was known as the First Fire Zouaves, and they were also known as the Excelsior Zouaves. Some of the men wore the brass letters "E Z" on the bands of their kepis. Many artists have depicted this regiment also with red shirts with the collar sticking out over the jacket creating a "red collar." The unit served in the

Excelsior Brigade The Excelsior Brigade was a military unit in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Mainly composed of infantry regiments raised in the state of New York primarily by former U.S. Representative Daniel Sickles, the brigade served in seve ...

in several battles, including

Antietam The Battle of Antietam (), or Battle of Sharpsburg particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union G ...

, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Appomattox Courthouse. Their monument at Gettysburg shows a statue of a volunteer fireman from the New York Fire Department, which was disbanded in 1865, standing hand-in-hand with a zouave of the 73rd New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment, wearing the uniform of their veteran's organization.

Notes

References

The Civil War Archives: Union Regimental Histories: New York
* Foner, Eric (1988). '' Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877''. New York, New York: Harper & Row. . * Smith, Robin (1996). ''American Civil War Zouaves''. Westminster, Maryland: Osprey Publishing. .

External links

New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center - Civil War - 73rd Infantry Regiment
Infantry 073 Military history of New York City Excelsior Brigade 1861 establishments in New York (state) Military units and formations established in 1861 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865 {{NewYork-stub
Guide to the 73rd Regiment of the New York State Volunteers Records, 1861-1868

See also

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References

External links