Uncle Sam's Camels : The Journal of May Humphreys Stacey Supplemented by the Report of of Edward Fitzgerald Beale

by May Humphreys Stacey, May Humphreys Stacey

In 1855, at the urging of Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, the U.S. Congress funded an unusual the importation of camels in order to test their fitness for military purposes in the Southwest. Camels, it was presumed, would fare much better than horses and mules in the desert’s punishing climate and terrain, and therefore could be used to transport supplies to frontier forts more quickly.

Lt. Edward Fitzgerald Beale led the nation’s first and only camel corps” expedition from Texas to California in 1857. Joining him was nineteen-year-old May Humphreys Stacey, who kept a detailed journal of their harrowing adventures. In Uncle Sam’s Camels, Lesley reproduces Stacey’s account as well as Lt. Beale’s glowing report on the expedition, in which he frequently comments on the camels’ remarkable endurance. Originally published in 1929, Lesley’s study was one of the first to treat this curiosity in U.S. military history, and it remains the definitive text on the subject.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, American

298 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2006

Reviews

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been reading this book for research for my third book about post Civil War Texas. It's a first-hand account of an unusual experiment; the possible use of camels for transport and warfare through the punishing climate and terrain of the American Southwest. An interesting look at a hazardous journey.

[Vance · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite the meager rating, I feel this is an important work. The actual diaries of two men who accompanied the one and only expedition using camels in the United States, the book preserves an unknown & unique chapter of American history. Unfortunately, because they are diaries it is immensely uninspiring (even though both authors demonstrate a flair at turning a phrase). The intent was not to entertain, just preserve facts...and both persist on and on.

May not have bothered me so much except this coincidentally came to my attention two times within two months (rather exceptional for such an obscure volume): first in a Saudi Aramco issue about camels, and then in a search for items concerning Big Bend NP in Texas, where I plan on making a four day canoe trip shortly. Thus I was intent on reading this, but not available from local library and everywhere demanded a rather steep price (not totally ridiculous, but the most inexpensive was $24 for a used hardcover). Believing demand was the driver of the price point I was truly looking forward to the read, but it just went on and on about daily weather and local landscapes...a real slog that only generated disappointment because it was so dry and contained scant references to the camels.

[Michael Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great little "behind the scenes" look at the project with in-depth coverage of the journey from diary entries.