NGP History Project

Here is an update to our earlier post.

The 14th Regiment of the National Guard of Pennsylvania was indeed a Zouave regiment in 1873, and several of its companies embraced the full flair of the Zouave tradition:

Company A - Allegheny Zouaves
Company B - Pittsburgh Zouaves (later the Kilgore Zouaves)
Company D - Phillips Zouaves
Company E - Armstrong Zouaves
Company H - Pearson Zouaves
Company I - Smith Zouaves

So what did the regiment actually look like on parade?

Company A was reported as wearing the uniform of Colonel Ellsworth’s Zouave Cadets, the most famous pre‑Civil War Zouave unit in the United States.

The former Company A - the Heath Zouaves - had an Ellsworth veteran as their drillmaster and were also said to be uniformed in the same style. Although they were not part of the regiment in 1873, their appearance helps illustrate the broader trend.

Company B, the Pittsburgh (later Kilgore) Zouaves, were likewise described as wearing uniforms in the same color scheme as Ellsworth’s Cadets.

Research into the remaining companies of the 14th Regiment is ongoing, but several themes are emerging: red caps, short blue jackets, red trousers, and even red blanket rolls carried on their knapsacks. The regiment must have been a striking sight on the streets of Pittsburgh in the early 1870s.

The attached images show the uniforms of the Ellsworth Zouave Cadets, whose style heavily influenced the companies of the 14th Regiment.

This Saturday at Fort Indiantown Gap, explore the past and present of our Pennsylvania National Guard.

Learn about the early years of our state militia and National Guard, then meet the men and women serving the Keystone State today!

⛺ Numerous displays and vehicles will be set up throughout the open‑house area
🚁 Observe flight operations demos by a UH‑60 Blackhawk and CH‑47 Chinook
🪖 Check out a fire‑and‑maneuver demonstration conducted by an infantry squad using simulated explosives and blank ammunition.

Find our canopy in front of the ground‑vehicle static display, across Clement Ave from the French 40&8 boxcar.

More details here:
https://www.ftig.ng.mil/Community/2026-Open-House/

Many of our and long‑time will remember our posts about the Spanish-American War and WW1 living history events at Fort Mott State Park.

We’re excited to share that each event now has its own dedicated page. With Matt coordinating the Spanish-American War at Fort Mott program since 2018 and the WW1 at Fort Mott program since 2023, these pages give everyone - visitors and participants alike - a clear place to stay up to date.

Participants will still receive event‑specific information through the usual internal channels.

Give the pages a follow, share them around, and keep an eye out - photos from previous years will be rolling out over the next couple of weeks. Each event will soon have its own page on The NGP History Project website as well.

On this Memorial Day - once known as Decoration Day - we look back to the origins of this national moment of remembrance.
It was General Orders No. 11 from GAR Headquarters that first set the tone for how communities across the country would honor the fallen after the Civil War.

In those early years, the day was marked not only by parades and cemetery ceremonies, but also by the gathering of old comrades. GAR posts hosted camp fires where veterans shared stories of their service; towns and civic groups organized lunches and dinners; and families planned excursions to local picnic grounds to spend the day in reflection and fellowship.

The Pennsylvania Militia, later the National Guard of Pennsylvania, played a visible role in these observances. Units marched in local parades and supported GAR ceremonies throughout the Commonwealth. Many of the men in uniform were themselves Civil War veterans, or members of the Sons of Union Veterans, even into the 1890s - and period photographs show them proudly wearing their GAR and SUV medals on their National Guard uniforms.