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Smithsonian Magazine (July 2006 p 36) credits Maj. George H. Crosman (not "Crossman") and Maj. Henry C. Wayne with suggesting the scheme "about 1836". --Wetman18:12, 5 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Hm; interesting; because I came to the talkpage to ask about:
The idea of using camels for military transport in the US dated back to 1836, when second lieutenant George H. Crossman began pressuring the United States Department of War to use camels in campaigns against Native Americans in Florida.
Same question basically; where did they get the idea from? Their own experiences where, or perhaps some knowledge they had of them via Ottoman or Arab military histories? Just curious what the connection might be, e.g. some connection to Barbary or Constantinople or wherever...weird that swampy ol' Florida is where they were suggested for, though I guess fresh water is in short supply in places (?). I'll be back about what happened to some of these camels as a vet of the corps, Frank Laumeister brought them to British Columbia for attempted use in the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush. Same problem - frightened the mules and horses, and the trails were very rocky, not sandy; not sure what to call an article on them yet; there's a Bridge of the Twenty-Three CamelsinLillooet, British Columbia is named after the ones that were let go wild, and nearby is the Camelsfoot Range.Skookum107:23, 29 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
the last one seen in British Columbia, confirmed, was in 1905 near Ashcroft, but there was a later report in the 1930s near Ashroft, and I've heard bar-talk apocryphal sightings (unproven and unprovable) in the '50s and '60s. Coulda been just a skinny, hunchback moose I guess....Skookum107:26, 29 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. This is an ongoing project. I'm reluctant to identify the location in the photo as Bannings Wharf without another source. The URL on that bad link should not have had an "s" on camels.--Jim in GeorgiaContribsTalk14:08, 22 January 2013 (UTC)[reply]
To speed up this process, the Confederacy decided to utilize camels, first brought to Texas at the recommendation of secretary of war, Jefferson Davis, in 1857. Each carried two bales of cotton to Matamoros where it was then unloaded and shipped on to Bagdad. The camel caravans would return to Camp Verde carrying six hundred pounds of salt from El Sal del Rey and Sal Vieja. A camel could carry twice the load a mule could. However, Brownsville citizens soon complained when some camels created havoc. The Brownsville Commission immediately enacted an ordinance prohibiting anyone from walking camels in the streets.
