By the decree of the emperor of May 27, 1832, the Azov Cossack army was formed from the Cossacks of the Transdanubian Sich and the petty bourgeoisie of Petrovsky Posad, which was to be guided by the charters and regulations of the already existing Cossack troops. Subsequently, due to the small number of troops, the state peasants of the Novospassky settlement and part of the Cossack settlers from the Chernigov province were attached to it.
The history of the emergence of this army is very interesting. In 1775, after the defeat of the Zaporizhzhya Sich, some of the Cossacks became citizens of the Turkish Sultan. In 1778, the sultan of the Ottoman Empire decided to take advantage of the Cossacks and form a Cossack army from them, allocating them the village of Kuchurhany (now Ukraine, Odessa region) on the lower Dniester. But the Russo-Turkish war of 1787-1792 began, which divided the Cossacks. Some of the Cossacks returned to the Russian Empire, where they were accepted into the Army of the Faithful Zaporozhians, later the Black Sea Cossack army, and some remained loyal to the Sultan. After the war, Bessarabia became part of Russia. And the Sultan allocated to the remaining Cossacks loyal to him a new land in the Danube Delta, where the Katerlets Sich was built.
The new Sich was located near the village of Nekrasov Cossacks. Relations between the Cossacks and the Nekrasovites did not work out, and in 1794 the Nekrasovites defeated the Cossacks and burned Katerlets. The Sultan allocated new land to the Cossacks, but on the Danube. But the throwing from side to side of the former Cossacks did not end there.
With the beginning of the next Russian-Turkish war, about 2 thousand Cossacks from the Transdanubian Sich went over to the side of Russia in 1828. Those who fled brought with them a military office, a camp church, a treasury, flags, attributes of power - a bunchuk and a mace. With these attributes, the transition acquired the strength of the return of the Cossack kosh to the borders of the Russian state. Ataman Osip Gladky headed these Cossacks. Emperor Nicholas I personally pardoned the Cossacks, said: "God will forgive you, the Motherland has forgiven you, and I forgive."
The Cossacks showed themselves well in battles. Particularly, the army distinguished itself, participating in the assault on Isakchi, ten Cossacks were awarded with St. George's crosses. Initially, the army was called the Separate Zaporozhye army. For five years, the Separate Zaporozhye army was left without a specific place of settlement, clearly defined military functions and status. At the end of the Russian-Turkish war, it was decided to transfer the Cossacks to the western Caucasus in the region of the river. Kuban, where the Cossacks would ensure the protection of the borders of the empire. Ataman Gladky was sent there to select lands for the settlement. The chieftain chose the outskirts of Anapa. However, due to the small number of Cossacks and poor knowledge of the area, their weak financial situation, it was decided to settle the army in the Alexandrovsky district of the Yekaterinoslav province and call it the Azov Cossack army. The army lived according to the position determined for the Don Cossacks. But an interesting fact: the land plots of ordinary people of Azov were 10 hectares, and of the Don people - 30. The number of the Azov Cossack army in 1835 was about 6 thousand people (with families). On the basis of the regulation on the Azov army, the Cossack army exhibited: a sea battalion, a foot half-battalion and teams for small ships (about 30 small ships). In peacetime, the Cossacks were mainly engaged in the fight against smugglers and repulsed the raids of the Circassians.
Cossacks took part in the Crimean War of 1853-56. The main task of the Cossacks in this war was to protect the coast of the Sea of Azov, which the Cossacks coped with with honor, were able to resist the Anglo-French invasion squadron, which consisted of 57 ships, and did not allow the landing party to land and cause significant damage to the Azov Sea. For this, the army was awarded the St. George's banner "For courage, exemplary service in the war against the French, British and Turks in 1853, 1854, 1855 and 1856". After the war, the Cossacks continued to carry out border service.
But the main task of the Cossack troops at that time was to protect the borders of the empire. Therefore, the placement of the Cossacks far from the borders, among the civilian population, in the opinion of Russian officials, was unjustified.
On October 11, 1864, the army was abolished. All officers were assigned to the nobility and received land plots. Most of the Cossacks and their families were resettled to the Black Sea coast in the vicinity of Anapa. Those who did not want to move were converted to the bourgeois or peasant class. All regalia of the Azov Cossack army were transferred to storage in the Kuban Cossack army.
This is how the story of one unit of the once very formidable Zaporozhye Cossack army ended.
