Camel Corps returns to Vicksburg National Military Park

Published 1:10 pm Thursday, July 14, 2022

The Texas Camel Corps, a reenactment organization that teaches people about the use of camels by the United States Army in the 19th century, will be at the Vicksburg National Military Park on Saturday to commemorate the service of Old Douglas, a camel that served with the 43rd Mississippi Volunteers during the Vicksburg siege and campaign.

The camels will be available to the public from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday and Sunday at the park’s visitors center. The event is free with the park admission and sponsored by the Friends of the Vicksburg National Park and Campaign.

“The camels will be in a shaded area by the visitor’s center,” said Brendon Wilson, the park’s chief of interpretation, education and partnership. “Visitors will be able to see them as they come out of the visitor center.”

Email newsletter signup

Sign up for The Vicksburg Post's free newsletters

Check which newsletters you would like to receive
  • Vicksburg News: Sent daily at 5 am
  • Vicksburg Sports: Sent daily at 10 am
  • Vicksburg Living: Sent on 15th of each month

Camels were introduced to the U.S. Army in the 1850s when then-Secretary of War Jefferson Davis had camels imported as an experiment to see if they would serve better than horses in the southwest, where the U.S. Army was engaged in wars with American Indian tribes.

The camels were later released and roamed wild in the southwest. Old Douglas, however, was purchased by a planter in Alabama as an experiment to see if camels could be used as farm animals.

He was later purchased by another individual and donated to the unit, where he served as its mascot and carried band instruments.

Old Douglas was killed by a Union sharpshooter during the siege and was eaten by the troops, who were low on food. He is remembered by a headstone among the Confederate dead in the Soldier’s Rest section of Cedar Hill Cemetery.

About John Surratt

John Surratt is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in general studies. He has worked as an editor, reporter and photographer for newspapers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post staff since 2011 and covers city government. He and his wife attend St. Paul Catholic Church and he is a member of the Port City Kiwanis Club.

email author More by John