Maynard, Felix (editor) Translated by Mrs. Harrison Robinson

Recollections of a Zouave Before Sebastopol [[Crimean War] [Florence Nightingale] [Non-British Perspective]

London and New York: Hayes & Zell, 1856. First American Edition. Hardcover. Vivid firsthand Crimean War memoir by a French Zouave trumpeter, issued in 1856 in this scarce first American edition. Includes camp-life, combat, and early commentary on Florence Nightingale, military hospitals, and medical care—handsomely preserved in the original blind-stamped gilt cloth.

Publisher’s brown blind-stamped cloth with gilt spine titles and gilt-stamped Zouave figure on the front board. 12mo, 7.125 inches tall; 300 pages, plus 4-page publisher’s catalogue at rear dated July 1, 1856.

Bindings are tight and square. Text clean with light, even toning; foxing confined mainly to pastedowns and preliminary leaves. Moderate shelf handling wear; light rubbing to extremities but gilt figure and titles still presentable. First Edition, First Printing; First American Edition.

A personal Crimean War memoir presented as the recollections of a French Zouave trumpeter serving before Sebastopol, offering one of the more vivid light-infantry perspectives on the campaign. Beyond battlefield action, the narrative gives detailed impressions of camp-life, discipline, winter hardship, and the daily routine of a specialized elite regiment drawn from France’s North African corps.

Of particular interest are the sections on medical services, hospitals, and care for the wounded, including contemporary commentary on Florence Nightingale and the Sisters of Charity. These passages add early, near-contemporary testimony to the transformation of battlefield medicine and nursing practice during the Crimean War, a subject more often approached through British sources than through French regimental experience.

The Zouaves themselves—originally recruited from units linked to French North Africa—were among the most decorated light infantry regiments of the French Army and became iconic for their distinctive uniforms and aggressive tactics. Their presence before Sebastopol, alongside the Tirailleurs Algériens and other colonial troops, symbolizes the imperial dimension of the conflict and helped shape the later romantic image of the Zouave across Europe and America.

Genres: Military History, Personal Memoir, Nineteenth-Century War Narrative
Subjects: Crimean War, Siege of Sebastopol, French Zouaves, Light Infantry, Military Medicine, Florence Nightingale, Sisters of Charity, Nineteenth-Century Battlefield Hospitals, French Colonial Forces, Tirailleurs Algériens.

Item #21341

Price: $145.00