Les Tuniques Bleues (Dutch: De Blauwbloezen) is a Belgian series of bandes dessinées (comic books in the Franco-Belgian tradition), first published in Spirou magazine and later collected in albums by Dupuis.

The series' name, Les Tuniques Bleues, literally "the bluecoats", refers to the uniforms of the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Those stories, rarely longer than a single page, were comedic adventures about popular Western stereotypes and the absurdity of military life.

In the second album, Du Nord au Sud, the main characters, Blutch and Chesterfield, travel east to join Ulysses S. Grant's army and fight in the American Civil War.

This retconned origin and continuity hiccups are not detrimental to the enjoyment and understanding of the series since each album is a stand-alone adventure or collection of short stories.

Corporal Blutch is a reluctant soldier, highly critical of authority, whose only wish is to get out of the army and return to civilian life, often threatening to desert and coming up with ways to avoid going into yet another senseless battle.

Sergeant Cornelius Chesterfield is by contrast a devoted and obedient career soldier, always determined that he and Blutch should be in the thick of the action.

Historic figures are also occasionally present in the narrative: alongside General Grant, they include President Abraham Lincoln, Confederate commander Robert E. Lee, and war photographer Mathew Brady.

Many albums are built around historical events or characters such as Chinese immigrant labor, the treatment of African American soldiers, Charleston's submarines, and General Lee's horse Traveller.

On another occasion they had to contend with a racist officer, Captain Nepel, based on the French politician Jean-Marie Le Pen.

Although this is not strictly speaking an adult-oriented bande dessinée, the authors are not afraid of showing the reality of war in a harsh, but tactful manner, such as dead bodies in the aftermath of a battle.

As a final solution, Corporal Blutch and Sergeant Chesterfield are reassigned to the Navy as sailors on a sailing ship, which ends up sinking in battle with the Confederates.

Following the sinking, both men are transferred to the USS Monitor and see action during the Battle of Hampton Roads against the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia.

As a reward, they are reassigned back to the 22nd Cavalry regiment, although a lack of manpower following one of Stark's infamous suicide charges could've also been the reason for the transfer, as both men are experienced cavalrymen.