How camels got into our military<\/p>\n
We\u2019re going back to the mid-1800s, before gas-powered automobiles changed the way we travel. The U.S. was on the brink of civil war and in the middle of westward expansion.<\/p>\n
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Typically, the army relied on mules and horses as beasts of burden, but in the new states and territories, they had a hard time hauling supplies over long distances. That was especially true for the Southwest\u2019s dry deserts and mountains.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, camel brigades (also known as Camel Corps) were already in use in armies around the world. These were made up of camel drivers who ferried supplies, transported troops and conducted military cavalry operations.<\/p>\n
Great Britain and India used the animals in the 19th century, according<\/a> to London\u2019s National Army Museum. The Imperial Camel Corps was also established during World War I, with British, Australian and New Zealand forces in the Middle East.<\/p>\n The Camel Corps caught on in America around the 1850s, according<\/a> to the Army Historical Foundation. The idea bubbled up to Maj. Henry C. Wayne \u2014 a camel fan himself \u2014 who recommended their use to a skeptical War Department and Congress.<\/p>\n After some years of political finagling, they gave the experiment $30,000 in funding in 1855 (about $1 million today). The money was used to buy 74 camels from the Mediterranean and put them into military service.<\/p>\n The Los Angeles arrival<\/p>\n They were brought over on the Navy store ship USS Supply and went to Texas first, to Camp Verde. As the camels got used to their new home, the time came for one of their first test missions. The federal government planned to build a wagon road to connect the eastern U.S. to the California\/Arizona border.<\/p>\n The Secretary of War at the time required the land surveyor to take 25 of the camels on the expedition in 1857, according<\/a> to the foundation. These \u201cships of the desert\u201d ended up thriving where horses and mules couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n The camels could carry a 700-pound load with ease, traveling up to 40 miles a day. They ate off the land and could go over a week without water. After the camels completed the job, the army sent them to L.A. in 1860.<\/p>\n This was for another test to see if camels could be used for mail delivery. They were essentially racing against mules to see who could get from Camp Fitzgerald (a short-lived<\/a> Civil War camp in L.A. County) to the Colorado River fastest. What the army didn\u2019t realize was that speed wasn\u2019t the camels\u2019 strong suit \u2014 several died from exhaustion.<\/p>\n A historic marker on the L.A. Times’ old building in downtown Los Angeles on September 30, 1967. The plaque mentions that the area was used as a “corral for camels from Fort Tejon”, which is one of the places the animals were sent to in California.<\/p>\n (<\/p>\n Mildred L. Harris<\/p>\n \/<\/p>\n Los Angeles Public Library\/L. Mildred Harris Slide Collection\/Los Angeles Photographers Collection<\/p>\n )<\/p>\n As the Civil War continued, the camels\u2019 future became uncertain. The army was tired of the experiment and the money it cost. The camels were never officially designated as the U.S.\u2019s \u201cCamel Corps\u201d and thus given no real purpose. In California, they essentially floated around L.A.-area outposts, such as the Los Angeles Quartermaster Depot<\/a> in downtown, Culver City\u2019s Camp Latham and the Drum Barracks in Wilmington.<\/p>\n The U.S. Army eventually sold the camels in California for about $50 each ($1,000 today) in 1864, according<\/a> to the foundation. These noble animals, roped into what many called a failed military experiment, ended up as circus attractions and on ranches as pack animals. Some were even let loose.<\/p>\n The last of California\u2019s \u201cCamel Corps\u201d is believed to be Topsy<\/a>. After the experiment shut down, she was used in the Ringling Brothers Circus and movies.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789253650_475_.jpeg\")
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