The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 5, Issue 4, Fall 2016 | Page 25

Outside the Sandbox: Camels in Antebellum America
Ryan Lancaster
There was a time during the antebellum period in America when the
United States military thought to use unconventional means to explore the deserts
of the Southwest. One of the methods chosen was to use camels—not only as a
vehicle of conveyance but also for hauling supplies and potentially for use in
combat. However, it was to be short lived, as the United States Camel Corps was
only in service for a few years. The loss of crucial leaders, the oncoming Civil War,
and the advent of new transportation technology combined to end the Camel Corps
experiment in the United States.
The Camel Corps had a small, yet crucial collection of advocates who
helped advance the project. Influential men, like Secretary of War Jefferson Davis,
virtually formed a cabal that surrounded the program. At the advent of the Civil
War, Davis departed for the Confederacy. With his departure, the Camel Corps lost
the clout in Washington DC that it needed to survive. In addition, the war itself
brought in a new directive for the Union. Experimentation was no longer a luxury
or ready commodity, so using camels for warfare was not a chance worth taking.
Most importantly, the advent of new technologies like the steam engine pacified the
West and provided an easier mode of transportation compared to the camel or the
horse. In essence, the Camel Corps was not a victim of its own hubris, but rather a
victim of timing. Had the Army used these animals even a few years prior to these
events, perhaps the Camel Corps would have established itself as an integral part of
the military.
The people of America did not know much about camels. The success of
the experiment would have been of the utmost advantage to the Southwest, for it
would have secured the West until the railroads were finished. The supporters who
pushed for this program, though often partisan in the beginning, were pleased in the
end with the outcomes. They postulated that the animal was superior to the mule in
speediness, load carrying, and durability. They also argued that the camels’ upkeep
was more affordable. People who witnessed the camel being field-tested could
attest to the animal’s flexibility. 1
Discrepancies exist in the historiography of the subject regarding the
origins of this endeavor. In 1836, Captain George H. Crosman lobbied the United
States Department of War to use camels as a means of conveyance. His report was
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