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| The 62nd New York at the Battle of Williamsburg Reenactment, Old Sydney Town 2005. Very Sloppy. |
'In October 1861 this regiment was the most sloppy, unclean and generally disgraceful regiment in Union service. The gaudy
Zouave costume always attracted a rowdy element, but this corps contained nothing but vagabonds who stole from friend, foe
and civilian alike' - From Philip Haythornthwaite's 1975 Uniforms of the Civil War
'it was mortifying to find so much neglect of duty, so much inefficiency, and so low a conception of the soldiers position
as in the Anderson Zouaves. Its organization was defective and unfortunate.' Brigadier General John J Peck.
The reenactment of this infamous regiment began in 1994 when a group of Sydney based reenactors decided to portray the
'worst regiment of the war'. Little did we know that 10 years of research later we would find that the 62nd were perhaps the
most maligned regiment of the war.
New York Lawyer and self-professed Liberterian John Lafayette Riker established the Anderson Zouves and let it be known that
he believed punishment was detrimental to the morale of a soldier. His men loved him dearly.
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| Colonel Riker raised the Anderson Zouaves in NYC and named them after the hero of Fort Sumter. |
Contact the Secretary Stephen Gapps
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