Talk:U.S. Camel Corps

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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". --Wetman 18:12, 5 July 2006 (UTC)

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 Camels in Lillooet, British Columbia is named after the ones that were let go wild, and nearby is the Camelsfoot Range.Skookum1 07:23, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

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....Skookum1 07:26, 29 March 2007 (UTC)