Did You Know … The U.S. Army Had an Experiment That Involved Camels?

The U.S. “Camel Corps” and how it didn’t go exactly as planned

Photo by Mads Severinsen on Unsplash

When we think of the U.S. we don’t really associate it with camels. When we think of camels, we are likely to think of the Sahara desert.

Expanding west was a huge endeavor for the United States most especially during the time of the California gold rush.

There was a significant dilemma with U.S. western expansion. With tough desert terrain and an often unforgiving, hot climate, traveling west proved to be a risky challenge. There were also rivers and mountains in the mid west that proved to be near impossible to cross.

And then, after researching camels and the way they lived extensively, the U.S government had an idea.

Why not train and use camels for transportation purposes in western expansion. They would be better suited and more tolerable to the hot desert environment than horses and mules. Camels could go without water and a short supply of food for about a week and they were built for the tough desert terrain.

The idea of using camels caught the immediate attention of Senator Jefferson Davis. However, it did take quite some convincing before Congress approved the start of the experiment known as “the U.S. Camel Corps” in March of 1855.

For the experiment, 33 camels were imported to the United States.

While the camels proved to be a better solution than horses and mules, there were a few disadvantages:

• Camels have quite the short temper. Plus they are notorious for spitting and biting. Soldiers had plenty of complaints involving the camels and their bad tempers. This undoubtedly led to a great deal of frustration.
• The start of the U.S. civil war was a significant factor that ended the Camel Corps. When the war started, funding for the Camel Corps stopped. Plus it eventually cost too much to care and train them.
• With the invention of the railroad, camels became unnecessary. Trains were an obviously faster method of transport.

What happened to the camels?

Some ended up on private ranches while others were placed in circuses or used in camel races. Some were turned lose in the wild due to their owners frustration. As odd as it sounds, camels were seen roaming the wild in the U.S. southwest desert.

The U.S Camel Corps is an example of an experiment that sounded like a good idea at the time!

Sources:

[embed]The U.S. Army Camel Corps - El Morro National Monument (U.S. National Park Service) Inscriptions reading "Beale," "Breckinridge," and "Long" recall a novel 1850s experiment by the U.S. Army. Major Henry…www.nps.gov

[embed]The U.S. Army's "Camel Corps" Experiment - The Army Historical Foundation By Vince Hawkins In the 1830s America's westward expansion was being severely curtailed by the inhospitable terrain and…armyhistory.org