Duryee's Zouaves Part Three: Gaines' Mill to the Post-War Years
Part One | Part Two

"The Red Devils" - The 5th New York at Gaines' Mill, by Don Troiani

On June 1862, as the Fifth Corps attempted to cover McClellan's change of base to the James River, Warren's troops launched a furious counterattack against the oncoming ranks of Gregg's South Carolina brigade. Riding up to Lt. Col. Duryea, Warren shouted, "Advance the colors! Advance the colors! Charge!" and with their flags in the vanguard, the cheering Zouaves swept over the field with leveled bayonets. One Carolinian called the Zouave onslaught "the most desperate charge I ever witnessed," and the Rebel attack recoiled. But more Southern troops joined the fray, and the fighting ebbed and flowed across the corpse-strewn plateau. "The noise was terrific," Sgt. Thomas Southwick recalled, "but loud above all was the exultant, fiendlike yell of the Confederate soldiers." Soaked with sweat and stained with gunpowder, the Zouaves maintained their formation amidst the collapsing Union line. At one point Lt. Col. Duryea had his men halt under fire and count off, so that every soldier was in his proper place.

The battle of Gaines' Mill made it clear to friend and foe alike that the Duryee Zouaves were more than a colorful ornament on the parade ground. Of 450 men who entered the fight, 162 had fallen. "I consider it an honor to belong to this regiment," Lt. Charles Montgomery wrote; "The Regular officers cannot speak too highly of us." One Southern soldier told a captive Zouave, "they never had seen the superiors of the red legs for unflinching courage and coolness." It was a reputation proudly maintained through the following days of hardship that brought McClellan's Army to its new base of operations at Harrison's Landing.

	In this sketch by Alfred R. Waud, the Army of the Potomac destroys its supply dumps as it retreats from Gaines' Mill. - Library of Congress

In Mid-August, the Zouaves were among Army of the Potomac troops transported north, to join the forces of Gen. John Pope. Hiram Duryea had been sent home with malaria, and the 5th NY went into the battle of Second Bull Run (Manassas) under the command of Capt. Cleveland Winslow, son of Regimental Chaplain Gordon Winslow. On the afternoon of August 30, 1862, Col. Warren deployed his little brigade -- the 5th and 10th NY -- in support of Hazlett's Battery, directly in the face of the Confederate juggernaut rolling down on Pope's naked left flank. It was a desperate act of sacrifice, intended to buy time, and the Duryee Zouaves paid a terrible price. "Where the Regiment stood that day was the very vortex of Hell," Pvt. Andrew Coats remembered; "Not only were men wounded, or killed, they were riddled."

Caught in a murderous crossfire from the Texas Brigade, the New Yorkers were scythed down where they stood in line of battle. Some men were struck five or even seven times in a matter of seconds, and as the Rebel pincers closed around them, Col. Warren ordered the survivors to break for the rear. "I saw my comrades dropping on all sides," Pvt. Alfred Davenport wrote, "canteens struck and flying to pieces, haversacks cut off, rifles knocked to pieces; it was a perfect hail of bullets." In less than eight minutes 330 of the 500 Zouaves enaged were put out of action, 120 of them dead or dying -- the greatest battle fatality of any Federal infantry unit in the War. Capt. Winslow was one of only three officers who escaped the slaughter, and although every man but one in the Color Guard was killed, the precious banners were brought safely from the field, stained with the blood of their fallen bearers.

The 5th New York moving under fire at Gaines' Mill - Keith Rocco

Their ranks again bolstered with recruits, the 5th NY marched on to Antietam, where on September 17 they were held in reserve during the War's bloodiest day. Three months later they fought at Fredericksburg, and on December 15 helped cover the Federal retreat from the ravaged town. Following several months in winter quarters, Col. Cleveland Winslow led the Zouaves in their final campaign, culminating in Hooker's defeat at Chancellorsville. "The officers and men of the Fifth New York behaved as they have always done," brigade commander Patrick O'Rorke reported; "I can give them no higher praise."

While the tough survivors of the two-year regiment returned home to a heroes' welcome, 230 later recruits were transferred to the 146th NY to finish their three-year enlistments. In June the 146th adopted a Zouave uniform, and fought gallantly to the end of War, 32 former 5th New Yorkers dying in service. Other veterans battled in the ranks of the 165th NY, or "Second Battalion, Duryee Zouaves," and Col. Winslow organized a 5th NY Veteran Volunteer regiment. These soldiers maintained the uniform and fighting reputation of the Duryee Zouaves to the final victory at Appomattox.

	Duryee's Zouaves march in Manhattan on a bygone Memorial Day.

After the war, determined to keep alive the heroic legacy of Duryee's Zouaves, members of the 5th New York Veterans Association held monthly meetings, erected battlefield memorials and marched in commemorative parades into the 1930s. When William McGuffage, the last of Duryee's Zouaves, died on May 12, 1940, he was two months shy of his 100th birthday. These old soldiers would no doubt have agreed with veteran Alfred Davenport, who wrote, "there are none but are proud to say that they served in the 5th New York Zouaves." It is a heritage of valor deeply cherished by members of today's Duryee Zouaves, and one we are equally proud to represent to new generations.