The 114th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. They were very famous for their colorful americanized zouave

Zouave

Zouave was the title given to certain light infantry regiments in the French Army, normally serving in French North Africa between 1831 and 1962. The name was also adopted during the 19th century by units in other armies, especially volunteer regiments raised for service in the American Civil War...

 dress which consisted of: a dark blue zouave jacket with sky blue cuffs and red trimmings and tombeux, a sky blue sash, madder red trousers, white gaiters, leather jamberies, and a red zouave fez with a yellow tassel that was often worn with a white turban. The material for the uniforms was imported from France by Colonel Collis himself, and the Regiment also recruited a number of European war veterans. The regiment was "born" in 1862 when Charles Collis formed a company trained and dressed as zouaves. The company was nicknamed "Zouaves d' Afrique". This company participated in the Peninsula Campaign

Peninsula Campaign

The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B...

 and the Battle of Antietam

Battle of Antietam

The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...

. Soon more and more men signed up to join the Zouaves d' Afrique company until there were enough volunteers to make a regiment (a regiment is consisted of ten companies) thus the 114th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment was created. The regiment was nicknamed "Collis' Zouaves". That winter the regiment participated in the Battle of Fredricksburg. There they participated in a counter attack by Robinson's brigade in the III corps to save General George E Meade's brigade from disaster. When they charged the Confederate defenses Colonel Collis seized his regiment's colors and spurred them on to success in saving Meade's brigade. After the Battle of Fredricksburg Collis earned the Medal of Honor.
A monument was erected in 1886 by Commonwealth of Pennsylvania at the Gettysburg National Battlefield, and is located at 39°48.209′N 77°14.926′W.