How the US Army tried to conquer the American West with camels

[Eldorado]

In 1836, an Army lieutenant had a… unique idea. 

The U.S. was in the midst of its expansion west, which was proving to be a difficult and oftentimes dangerous trek for pioneers who were attempting to make their way across harsh terrain. Enter Army Lt. George H. Crossman, who proposed a simple solution: Camels. 

The idea of buying and importing camels to the American Southwest for “military purposes” would later be considered “the most unique experiment in U.S. Army history,” according to the National Museum of the U.S. Army.

Unofficially called the “U.S. Army Camel Corps,” the experiment saw a series of successes before it was effectively ended with the beginning of the Civil War.

Task and Purpose

Edited April 5, 2021 by Eldorado

[+Desertrat56]

5 minutes ago, Eldorado said:

In 1836, an Army lieutenant had a… unique idea. 

The U.S. was in the midst of its expansion west, which was proving to be a difficult and oftentimes dangerous trek for pioneers who were attempting to make their way across harsh terrain. Enter Army Lt. George H. Crossman, who proposed a simple solution: Camels. 

The idea of buying and importing camels to the American Southwest for “military purposes” would later be considered “the most unique experiment in U.S. Army history,” according to the National Museum of the U.S. Army.

Unofficially called the “U.S. Army Camel Corps,” the experiment saw a series of successes before it was effectively ended with the beginning of the Civil War.

Task and Purpose

Disney made a movie about it.  And descendants of those camels are in a couple of small Mexican cirus's, others are wandering the desert in Northern Mexico.