The motive for procuring camels was their usability in dry areas, which the U.S. had previously obtained to the detriment of Mexico.
On June 4, 1855, the American warship USS Supply set sail on an unusual camel procurement mission for the U.S. Army. Namely, the Americans intended to establish a unit that would use camels if they stock animals. Particularly interested in this was then-Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, who later became known as the first and only president of the Confederacy (South) in the American Civil War.
The USS Supply sailed from New York and headed across the Atlantic Ocean. After passing through the Gibraltar Gate and entering the Mediterranean Sea, they began to procure camels in the area of present-day Tunisia, Malta, Greece, Turkey and Egypt. In total, they procured several dozen camels, including a pair of two-humped ones, originally from Asia.
After returning to the United States, they landed camels near Indianole, Texas. Later, another voyage to the Mediterranean Sea was made for the purpose of procuring additional camels. The motive for procuring camels was their usability in dry areas, which the U.S. had previously obtained to the detriment of Mexico (the area from Texas to California).
However, when the American Civil War began, the camel use project went into oblivion. The considerable problem with the camels seems to have been that they were feared by horses and mules, at that time dominant among pack animals. Today, the aforementioned failed military unit that was supposed to use camels is popularly called the U.S. Camel Corps.
