Elmer Ellsworth was born in New York in 1837 and moved to Chicago in 1854 to seek his fortune. There, he met a former Zouave. The Zouaves were a unit of the French Foreign Legion-type unit that had gained fame in the Crimean War. That man was Charles de Villiers.
Ellsworth was apparently a very really coordinated both physically and athletically. As a young boy he was fascinated with soldiers. In Chicago he was working out at the Y and this Charles de Villiers became his fencing instructor. De Villiers had served with the Zouaves in Crimea as a member of their medical corps.
Fencing was easily mastered by Ellsworth and they soon expanded to Zouave-type moves. Together, the two developed something called the "Lightning Drill."
To see an example of Zouaves at drill go to You Tube and look up "American Legion Zouaves Jackson & Michigan Drill Team on the Ed Sullivan Show.
--Old Sercesh
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