Carte de visite of a soldier in Fire Zouave uniform, 1861

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Few uniforms of the early Civil War drew more attention than that of the Fire Zouaves, and this small card shows one of the men who wore it. The regiment, the 11th New York, was recruited in 1861 largely from New York City's volunteer fire companies, and its red fez, short jacket, and loose trousers borrowed their style from French colonial troops in Algeria. Cartes de visite like this one were inexpensive and often exchanged among family and friends, so they frequently became the main picture a household kept of a son or husband going off to war.

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