Army Camels in Texas

Chair

Jan McCaleb Elliott

El Bigote Cattle Co., LLC

Presenter

Doug Baum

Texas Camel Corp

The US Army Camel Experiment

The US Army Camel Experiment is an award-winning mini documentary about the 19th century United States military use of camels as pack animals in the American desert Southwest prior to the coming of the railroad. Through narration, archival images, reenactment footage, still images, and voice-over the film explores the players, the politics of the day, the results of the experiment, and the camel’s place in American history in a unique tale set during the time of Western Expansion in North America all while putting to rest long-held myths. Built upon a lifetime of research, Baum’s film and other works have been screened at film festivals as well as during international conferences in the United Kingdom, Kazakhstan, and in innumerable classrooms across the US.

Presenter

Sierra Tervo

Liberty University

Camels for Manifest Destiny: Politics, Expansion, and Military Power in the Southwestern Frontier

In the mid-nineteenth century the Army undertook an interesting experiment to import and test the utility of camels for military purposes. The camels were mainly housed at a small outpost in the Hill Country of Texas and used for a few adventurous expeditions before the idea was eventually terminated after 10 years. This brief period reveals important connections between the changing role of the military on the frontier, westward expansion, and the growing sectional politics that would lead to the Civil War. The Camel Experiment is more than an attempt to solve supply, transport, and communication issues; it reflects the broad ambitions of Manifest Destiny as the nation coped with new western territories, hostile environments, and the clashes of different cultures.

Presenter

David Martinez

Fort Lancaster

Camels on the Pecos: The U.S. Army’s Camel Experiment in the Trans-Pecos

The Trans-Pecos region of West Texas presented the United States Army with enormous logistical challenges and an opportunity to test an equally unusual solution. Beginning with Fort Lancaster and following the Camel Corps across the region to Fort Davis, El Paso, and beyond, this presentation examines how soldiers used and evaluated the camels in the sparse desert of west of the Pecos River. This presentation considers geography, transportation, expeditions, and firsthand experiences that reveal both the promise and practical limitations of the Camel Experiment.