Clad in colorful garb modeled on the uniform worn by french colonial troops, the 5th New York Infantry, or "Duryée's Zouaves", was one of two regiments in Colonel Gouverneur Warren's brigade that bore the brunt of Longstreet's onslaught on August 30, 1862. cought in a deadly crossfire that one survivor likened to "the vortex of Hell". In less than ten minutes the regiment lost 330 out of some 550 men taken into action. At least 120 Zouaves were killed outright or died of wounds, the greatest fatality sustained in a Civil War battle by any single Union infantry unit.
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