In the years following the Mexican War the War Department had been studying the idea of camels being used in supplying army posts in the great southwestern deserts. Camels had proven valuable in the old world deserts of the Middle East and Worth Africa. In 1848 Major Henry C. Wayne of the Quartermaster Corps was assigned to investigate the durability of the camels as beasts of burden and their ability to carry freight on the southwestern frontier. Jefferson Davis was Secretary of War when Wayne's report was submitted. The report was very encouraging and General Beale took an active interest in the idea. He proposed that a camel corps should be established for transportation. Beale learned from Wayne's report that the 'British Army used camels as pack animals and cavalry mounts in their conquest of India, and in current newspaper accounts of still more active employment of the animals by the British in the Crimean War of 1855.' (1) President Pierce approved a sum of $30,000 to finance this experiment and ordered the money to furnish a ship to transport the camels from the Middle East to the U.S. (2) Wayne undertook the actual purchasing of the camels. There were several complications. The main problems concerned competition with British agents, dishonest Arabs trading diseased animals, and many types and breeds of camels to add to the confusion of the buyer. Thirty-five camels were finally bought. (3) Lieutenant Porter was in command of the ship transporting the camels to this country. He kept the animals in excellent health and landed them safely in Indianola, Texas on May 14th of 1856. A few days later the camels were taken to San Antonio. Lieutenant Edward F. Beale had been employed to open a road from Fort Defiance, New Mexico to California. He had the camels put in his charge for this task. In his report he said that 'each camel carrying 700 pounds of freight could go 26 hours without water in 104 degree heat, and flourish on a diet of greasewood They carried water for the mules, traversed stretches of country covered with the sharpest volcanic rock with out injury to their feet, climbed with heavy packs over mountains where unloaded mules found it difficult to go, even with the assistance of dismounted riders. And to the surprise of the party, plunged into rivers without hesitation.' (4) Beale had some problems adjusting to the camels, though. First, not a single man available knew anything about camels until two imported camel experts, Hadji Ali (known as 'Hi Jolly') and George Caralambo (called 'Greek George'), arrived. Second, the troops complained of the camel odor. Lastly, the officers displayed little interest in learning how to ride a camel. There were even occasions when camels were knifed at night. (5) At length the party crossed the Colorado River fifteen miles north of Needles, California, at a point that became known as 'Beale's Crossing.' They arrived in Los Angeles on November 10, 1857. A Los Angeles newspaper had this to say: 'On the 10th, the dramedaries arrived by way of the Cajon and the Mojave. They created a great curiosity, and scared all the horses, mules, and children. When the docility of the animals was proved to the wonder-stricken senses of the natives, they were all anxious to take a ride on the humps of those awkward locomotives, and as long as they remained in town, throngs of boys and men followed their motions. They remained but two days, however, and then went to join the remainder of the train which had followed up the east side of the mountains to Tejon, where they were to be kept for breeding. Of the twenty-two camels brought though, but two are males.' (6) The first and last battle that the Camel Corps took part in was in April of 1859. Beale and his camels were working on a wagon road along the 35th parallel. He was hailed near Flagstaff, Arizona by Sam Bishop and 'Hi Jolly' riding two camels. Bishop and 'Jolly' were working the other end of the road when they had heard of Indians massacring emigrant wagon trains on the Colorado River. They had drafted 40 men to aid Beale at the crossing. Bishop and his men arrived ahead of the Beale party with their 20 camels. They were attacked at the river crossing by over 1000 Indians. This fight, known as the Battle at Beaver Lake, lasted for several days ending with the defeat of the Indians and the occupation of the Indian village. After the Pierce administration, the Army lost interest in the camel project. A number of camels escaped from Fort Tejon and other army posts to wander the deserts for years. The remainder were sold at auctions. The Civil War sounded a death-knell for the U.S. Camel Corps. UNIFORMS The Camel Corps wore the standard U.S. Dragoon uniform of dark blue jacket and tall kepi, both piped orange, the kepi also sporting an orange ball pom-pom at the front. Light blue trousers with orange seam stripes. Black belts, equipment and boots. The men adopted some 'local' items of dress, most common of which were Spanish-style leather leggings to protect their lower legs from cactus and other spiny desert plants. The men were also allowed to sport earrings (left ear only) and long hair, often braided. NOTES 1) Crowe, p. 63. 2) Ibid. 3) Cullimore, p. 40. 4) Ibid. 5) Crowe, p. 64. 6) Cullimore, p.41. SOURCES Crowe, Earle, MEN OF EL TEJON, Los Angeles, 1957. Cullimore, Clarence C., OLD ADOBES OF FORGOTTEN FORT TEJON, Bakersfield, 1941. Faulk, Odie B., THE U.S. CAMEL CORPS, AN ARMY EXPERIMENT, Oxford University Press, New York, 1976. 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