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 The Camel Corps Posted by:  NevaP
N 35° 10.328 W 114° 42.649
11S E 708472 N 3894531
The marker is by State Route 163 near Laughlin, Nevada.
Waymark Code: WM3M67
Location: Nevada, United States
Date Posted: 04/19/2008
Views: 106
The U.S. Army's Camel Corp was a military experiment that began in 1855. Jefferson Davis, then Secretary of War authorized the purchase of 75 camels with four herders hired to come from the Middle East to the United States with them. Edward Beale used 25 of the camels in his expedition to survey and create a road through the Southwest.
Although the camels proved to be more useful than horses or mules in desert conditions soldiers would have little to do with them and further attempts to use them met with little success. The camels were eventually sold to circuses or civilian owners for work in the desert.
Marker Title (required): The Camel Corp
Marker Number (If official State Marker from NV SHPO website above, otherwise leave blank): 104
Marker Text (required):
In 1855 Congress authorized $30,000 for camels as frontier military beasts of burden because of their adaptability to desert heat, drought and food.
Lt. Edward F. Beale surveyed the wagon route from Fort Defiance, New Mexico, to the Colorado River near the tip of Nevada, testing the fitness of these camels. They crossed the Colorado River into Nevada north to Fort Mohave, October 18, 1857.
The experiment was not practical, but ten of Beale's camels hauled commercial freight from Sacramento to Nevada Territory. Others purchased in 1860 carried salt, ore and supplies through Central Nevada.
Careless treatment, domestic stock incompatibility and new transportation methods ended use of camels. Some were seen years later wandering in southwest deserts
County (required): Clark (Las Vegas)
Marker Type (required): Full Size (with blue painted mesh)
Other Marker Type (optional): Nevada state marker
Is Marker Damaged? (required): Yes, bullet holes
URL - Website (optional): [Web Link]
Other Damage Type (optional): Not listed
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