Ships of The Desert—US Camel Corps

By Suzanne Norquist

Everyone who studies United States history knows that the army used horses and mules to transport personnel and cargo. This worked well in the East, where water and vegetation were abundant.

In 1848, the United States acquired a massive swath of desert when they signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This included the area of California, Nevada, and most of Utah and Arizona, as well as parts of New Mexico and Colorado.

A few military leaders proposed using “Ships of the Desert”—camels—in this arid region. Middle-Eastern and even European militaries used the beasts for this purpose. Why not the United States?

Senator Jefferson Davis, who became the Secretary of War in 1853, finally convinced the military to acquire a few camels to see how they performed.

Purchasing the camels proved to be a significant undertaking. The voyage through the Middle East took over a year, during which thirty-three animals were purchased, including saddles and gear, and five camel drivers were hired. Ships for the return trip required special decks to carry the large beasts. A second group of forty-one camels followed the first.

The camels and their handlers were stationed at Camp Verde, Texas. The military cared for the animals and set up some competitions between them and mules. As expected, camels could carry more than double and go for long stretches without water. They ate vegetation that other animals refused.

However, they frightened horses, spit on people they didn’t like, and could be more stubborn than a mule. Most military men didn’t want to work with camels.

Only one major operation included them, and it was considered experimental. In 1857, Edward Fitzgerald Beale led an expedition to survey a road through the desert from Texas to California—a southern alternative to the Oregon Trail. As part of his contract, he was required to take twenty-five camels. He reported that they performed better than the mules. In fact, he recommended purchasing more.

Other shorter treks supported this recommendation.

Even with the positive reports, the camel corps didn’t survive long after the start of the Civil War. Camp Verde was occupied by the Confederate Army for most of the war, and they didn’t value the animals. After the war, Confederate President Jefferson Davis’s association with the camels didn’t help the cause.

Trains soon crisscrossed the country, eliminating the need for these sturdy pack animals. The camels were sold to circuses, transportation outfits, and individuals. The Overland Mail Company purchased the beasts to carry mail from Omaha to Sacramento.

Some ended up as feral camels, with reported sightings throughout the southwestern United States for many years.

Perhaps if camels had been introduced sooner, or if the president of the Confederacy hadn’t been the person responsible for their use, the awkward-looking beasts would be as common as horses.

Or not.

*** 

”Mending Sarah’s Heart” in the Thimbles and Threads Collection

Four historical romances celebrating the arts of sewing and quilting.

Mending Sarah’s Heart by Suzanne Norquist

Rockledge, Colorado, 1884

Sarah seeks a quiet life as a seamstress. She doesn’t need anyone, especially her dead husband’s partner. If only the Emporium of Fashion would stop stealing her customers, and the local hoodlums would leave her sons alone. When she rejects her husband’s share of the mine, his partner Jack seeks to serve her through other means. But will his efforts only push her further away?

Suzanne Norquist is the author of two novellas, “A Song for Rose” in A Bouquet of Brides Collection and “Mending Sarah’s Heart” in the Thimbles and Threads Collection. Everything fascinates her. She has worked as a chemist, professor, financial analyst, and even earned a doctorate in economics. Research feeds her curiosity, and she shares the adventure with her readers. She lives in New Mexico with her mining engineer husband and has two grown children. When not writing, she explores the mountains, hikes, and attends kickboxing class.

The Legend of the Confederate Gold

Please welcome guest blogger, Jennifer Purcell. She is the author of A Different Kind of War and Social Media Manager for Spark Flash Fiction.

As a born and bred Georgia girl, I love learning tidbits of Georgia history. But there are some things they just don’t teach you in history class.

One of those is the legend of the Confederate gold.

According to history, when Confederate President Jefferson Davis received news that General Lee surrendered, he packed up the Confederate treasury and left Virginia. Rumors began circulating that he had over a million dollars with him, mostly in gold coins and bullion. But when Davis was captured near Irwinville, GA, and the Union soldiers confiscated his load, he had nowhere close to the rumored amount with him.

Some Union soldiers took the confiscated money and headed to a railhead in South Carolina. When they stopped for the night in Lincoln County, GA, bandits stole the money. Some of it was later recovered, but much of it is still missing.

This led to questions about what happened to the gold. Some scholars say that all the money stolen from the Union soldiers was recovered and that much of what Davis left Virginia with was used to pay Confederate soldiers. They also say that the rumors exaggerated how much Davis was actually carrying. But one scholar has said that James A. Semple was entrusted with some of the gold before Davis’s capture and was tasked with making it to Mexico. He never made it there, though, because he spent much of the money on his affair with Julia Gardiner Tyler.

But the ensuing search for the gold created a lot of trouble for the Union Army. A general named Edward A. Wild led a search in the area where the bandits struck. He accused the Chennault family of hiding gold and tortured them for answers. This caused a huge scandal, and General Ulysses S. Grant ended up removing Wild from his command.

Today, people still search for the missing gold, and the questions surrounding it are the perfect breeding ground for a writer’s imagination. I had just learned of it and was beginning to brainstorm ways to incorporate it into my debut novel when I read Turn to Me by Becky Wade. She used it as an important plot point, so I won’t spoil it for you if you haven’t read it. But the part it played in the story just goes to show how many of us are intrigued by the idea of hidden treasure. 

What do you think happened to the missing gold?

Jennifer Purcell is a Georgia native who loves to write about

faith, family, and romance. She is an ACFW First Impressions contest winner and a semi-finalist in the ACFW Genesis contest. Her debut historical romance, A Different Kind of War, released September 2023. Visit her online at justjenniferpurcell.com.

If you love small towns and heartwarming romances that don’t shy away from real-life struggles, then you’ll love Jennifer's debut novel: A Different Kind of War.

The war isn’t over for everyone. Will these two weary hearts ever find peace? After Marjorie Willoughby lost her father and brother in battle and her mother to a fever, she cobbled together a new family. But a lingering debt endangers their future. Gregory Cartwright’s Union allegiance and pacifist beliefs forced him to leave his home, and now he’s looking for a fresh start among his fellow Unionists in Bradford, Georgia. But first he needs a piece of land. Is there a possible solution that benefits them both, or are these battles they cannot win?

What ever happened to Jeff Davis?

Jefferson Finis Davis was born in Kentucky, only eight months

Jefferson Davis

before and less than a hundred miles away from the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln. Most of his childhood was spent on a cotton plantation in Mississippi with his ten siblings.

Davis had quite a prestigious military career before the start of the Civil War. In 1824, President Monroe appointed young Jefferson Davis to a cadetship at the United States Military Academy at West Point in New York. While at West Point, Davis was well liked and respected by his fellow cadets. He was known for his leadership skills and a high-toned and arrogant character. In 1828, he graduated 23rd in his class.

From 1828 to 1833, Jeff Davis served as second-lieutenant of the First Infantry. He fought in the Blackhawk Wars in 1831 and after Chief Blackhawk was captured, Davis, through his kindness and respect toward the Indian chief, won over the warrior.

Davis married his first wife, Sarah Knox Taylor, in June 1835. Sarah’s father, the future president of the US, Zachary Taylor, didn’t approve of the marriage. Because of this, Davis resigned his military post and began a civil career in cotton farming. Tragically, Sarah died of malaria September of the same year.

Ten years later in 1845, Jefferson Davis was elected to the

Jefferson and wife, Varina

House of Representatives and also remarried. His new wife Varina Howell, an upper-class woman from Mississippi.

After flipping back and forth of civilian life and military life, President Franklin Pierce appointed Davis secretary of war. 1857 he returned to the Senate. Although resistant to state secession, he defended the rights of Southern slave states. Davis served in the Senate until January 1861, when Mississippi left the Union.

  February 18, 1861 Jefferson Davis was named President of the brand-new Confederate States of America. He served this position throughout the Civil War. On May 10, 1865, Davis was captured by Northern Army and charged with treason, but was never charged. Davis spent two years at Monroe Prison where his mental and physical health greatly suffered, and ironically, was released after abolitionist Henry Greeley paid his bail.

After his release from jail, Jeff Davis led a dismal life. He and his family travel abroad a couple times but otherwise he lived a middle to lower class lifestyle. He worked for an insurance

Monroe Prison

company for a short time, but the company went bankrupt and Davis lost his job. He wrote a book about the history of the Confederacy, but the book did not sell well and brought no profit. The remainder of his life was spent financially struggling. He lived off family and friends until he died in 1889 at 81 years old in New Orleans.

Before his death, Jefferson Davis was offered restoration of United States citizenship that was stripped after the war, but he refused the offer. Though in the late 1970’s his citizenship was restored posthumously.

When I learn about characters of the past that I assume were bad or at the very least disreputable, I’m often surprised that they were not bad people at all. Often, their position is more a situation of bad choices than bad character. It makes me realize the importance of making good choices and surrounding myself with good mentors and friends to help guide me along the way.

Thank you for joining me here at HHH today and stay safe and continue to make good choices for your health, your family’s health and those around you.

Until next month, I wish you all health and happiness.

Michele

Multi award-winning author, Michele K. Morris’s love for historical fiction began when she first read Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House book series. She grew up riding horses and spending her free time in the woods of mid-Michigan. Michele now lives with her six children, three in-loves and ten grandchildren in the great Sunshine State. Michele loves to hear from readers on Facebook, Twitter, and here through the group blog, Heroes, Heroines, and History at HHHistory.com.

Michele is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency.

Beauvoir, Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library

By Michelle Shocklee

A few weeks ago, hubby and I drove down to Biloxi, Mississippi for a long weekend with our two grown sons, who drove in from Texas. We weren't able to see them for Christmas, so I was truly looking forward to some quality time with my kiddos. Before we left town, however, people kept asking, "Are you going to Biloxi to gamble at the casinos?" What?! Quite honestly, we didn't know there were casinos down there, nor did we have any interest in losing our hard-earned money. We simply wanted a beach getaway weekend with our boys. It was wonderful!

But casinos weren't the only unexpected site awaiting us. As history geeks, we enjoy visiting old houses, museums, and such, so you can imagine our 'geek radar' going off as we drove past an old white house, gleaming in the Mississippi sunshine. I read the sign out front --- Beauvoir --- and quickly Googled it. Was I ever shocked to discover who had once lived there!

Beauvoir; photo Wikipedia

Now, before I get into the history of Beauvoir, I have to clarify something. My great-grandfather fought for the Union Army during the Civil War. I'm immensely proud of that fact. As an author of historical fiction that deals with the evils of slavery, you can be assured this post is not meant to honor anyone associated with the Confederacy. It's simply to share about an historic and interesting place we visited while on vacation.

Hubby and eldest son at Beauvoir

Beauvoir, which means "beautiful view," was built in the mid-1800s by James Brown, a prosperous planter from Madison County, Mississippi, who wanted a summer home for his family. Because of its location on the beach facing the Gulf of Mexico, the house was built as a raised cottage, meaning its foundation is placed on massive pillars, not flat on the ground, allowing flood waters to flow through the ground level. With wide porches all around, high ceilings, and big windows, Beauvoir was designed to welcome cooling breezes from the gulf in the days before air-conditioning. With only eight rooms, Beauvoir has a simple floor plan, with some of the bedrooms being accessed from porches instead of hallways. In addition to the main house, Brown constructed two smaller cottages in what is now the front yard and some service buildings in the back, such as a fine brick kitchen. The Brown family owned Beauvoir for about twenty-five years.

Sarah Ellis Dorsey

In 1873, Sarah Ellis Dorsey, a famous and wealthy author from Natchez, Mississippi, bought the house and christened it Beauvoir. After her husband's death in 1875, the widow invited former Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who was ill and nearly bankrupt, to visit the plantation. She offered him a cottage called the Pavilion near the main house, where he could live and work on his autobiography, "Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government." He ended up living at Beauvoir the rest of his life. In 1878, Sarah, ill with cancer, remade her will, bequeathing her entire estate, including Beauvoir, to Jefferson Davis, making his youngest daughter, Varina Anne Davis, known as "Winnie," the heir after her father died. Sarah died in July 1879. Some records indicate Jefferson Davis offered to buy Beauvoir for $5,500, making at least one payment before Sarah passed.

Jefferson Davis' political and military life prior to the Civil War was varied. He was a graduate of West Point, a hero in the Battle of Monterrey during the Mexican-American War, and a senator from Mississippi. When Davis served in Washington, he helped get the Smithsonian Institution up and running after the founder, James Smithson, died. In his private life, he was a married father of several children. In 1860, he owned 113 slaves who worked at his plantation, Brierfield. In the months before the Civil War, Davis resigned from the Senate and was selected as president of the Confederacy. When the war ended, he was charged with treason and, although he was never tried or convicted, he lost the right to run for public office.

Following the death of Jefferson Davis, the home passed to his daughter, Winnie. Winnie, however, wasn't interested in caring for a large house in Mississippi, and instead moved to New York. When Winnie passed away at the age of 34, Davis' widow, Varina Howell Davis, inherited. In her will, she expressed her wish that Beauvoir be turned into a retirement home for Confederate soldiers. Her wishes were granted, and hundreds of veterans and some Confederate widows moved in, living in barracks constructed for them. A hospital, dining room, and chapel were also added. In 1953, the home became a museum.

In 1998, the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library opened. Inside is an auditorium showing a film about Davis, a large museum that highlights his long and eventful life, and a library for research. Some of his own books are available for viewing.

Jefferson Davis Presidential Library and Museum

All in all, our visit to Beauvoir was interesting. We may not agree with the choices Jefferson Davis made before, during, or after the Civil War, but he will always be a historical figure in American history. 

Your turn: Have you ever visited Beauvoir? What are you thoughts on it?

Michelle Shocklee is the award-winning author of The Planter's Daughter and The Widow of Rose Hill, historical sagas set on a Texas cotton plantation before and after the Civil War. Her time-slip novel set in Nashville will release in September 2020 from Tyndale House Publishers. Michelle and her husband of 32 years make their home in Tennessee. Connect with her at www.MichelleShocklee.com.





THE WIDOW OF ROSE HILL

Widowed during the war, Natalie Ellis finds herself solely responsible for Rose Hill plantation. When

Union troops arrive with a proclamation freeing the slaves, all seems lost. In order to save her son’s inheritance she strikes a deal with the arrogant, albeit handsome, Colonel Maish. In exchange for use of her family’s property, the army will provide workers to bring in her cotton crop. But as her admiration for the colonel grows, a shocking secret is uncovered. Can she trust him with her heart and her young, fatherless son?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078CN65FH/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Hero or Enemy?

Raphael Semmes beside the CSS Sumter

By Marilyn Turk

When I attended Louisiana State University, I often drove down Semmes Road, one of the main streets that ran through campus. But I wasn’t aware of who Semmes was until I researched blockade running for my book, Rebel Light. Much to my surprise, the man for whom the street was named, Raphael Harcourt Semmes,  was a colorful character and famous Confederate blockade runner, or to be exact, commerce raider, during the Civil War. But why would LSU name a road after him?

Raphael Semmes

Semmes was born in 1809 in Maryland.  By the age of 14, both his parents had died and he and his younger brother were taken in by their uncles. One of them owned a small merchant fleet which traveled to ports around the world. With that uncle’s influence and another uncle’s position as a senator, Raphael received a midshipman’s appointment to the US Navy.

Over the next four years, Semmes served on ships that sailed the Caribbean, the coast of South America, and the Mediterranean. During times of leave, he studied law. By the time he became a ship’s officer three years later, he had passed the bar. He opened a law practice in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he married Anne Elizabeth Spencer with whom he would have six children.

CSS Sumter

Semmes served in the Mexican War during 1846-48.  After the war, he moved his family to Mobile, Alabama, where once again, he practiced law while on shore. In 1851, he wrote a memoir, Service Afloat and Ashore in the Mexican War. In 1853, he was promoted to commander and the next year transferred to Washington, D.C., assigned as a lighthouse inspector for the Lighthouse Board.

As the political environment heated up in the country, Semmes took the side of states’ rights, and when Alabama seceded from the Union in 1861, Semmes resigned from the US Navy. Afterwards, he was contacted by Confederate president Jefferson Davis and soon became a commander of the Confederate Navy in charge of the Confederate Lighthouse Bureau. But Semmes had other ideas. He convinced the Confederate Secretary of the Navy to allow him to outfit a boat as a commerce raider to stymie the Union economy and counteract the effect of the Union blockade on Southern ports.

Semmes and his officers of the CSS Sumter

Semmes proved capable of his goal as he wreaked havoc on US merchant ships while commanding the CSS Sumter. For six months, Semmes pillaged through the Caribbean and across the Atlantic to Spain. His knowledge of the ocean, coastlines, weather and shipping lanes, combined with superb navigational skills, allowed him to find his targets and escape Union warships. When he retired the battered Sumter in Gibraltar, he assumed command of a newly built ship which became the CSS Alabama, from Confederate sympathizers in England.

The next two years, Semmes earned worldwide recognition for his destruction or capture of 65 Union ships, making him the most successful commerce raider in maritime history. Union newspapers called him a “pirate” and a “privateer,” both names Semmes rejected because he served as an officer in the Confederate Navy and was not acting for his own profit. When the Alabama was finally sunk in a battle with the USS Kearsarge in June 1864, Semmes’ raiding days were over, but he escaped capture and returned home to Mobile and his family.

Semmes home in Mobile, Alabama

He was promoted to rear admiral and also served briefly as brigadier general in the Confederate army, the only North American to have held such ranks in both the army and the navy simultaneously.

After the war, he was arrested for treason and held in jail for four months before being released.

So what does this have to do with LSU? Well, after the war, Raphael Semmes became a professor of literature and philosophy at the university.

Following his stint at LSU, he returned to law practice in Mobile. There he wrote his book, Memoirs of Service Afloat During the War Between the States, in 1869.

 

Statue of Raphael Semmes

Award-winning author Marilyn Turk lives in and writes about the coast – past and present. A multi-published author, she writes a lighthouse blog at http://marilynturk.com. Her latest release, Rebel Light, Book 1 in the Coastal Lights Legacy series, is now available along with A Gilded Curse, and Lighthouse Devotions on amazon.com.

Would you like to develop your writing skills? Marilyn is hosting a writers retreat March 22-25 at Blue Lake in southern Alabama. Whether you're just getting started or have been writing a while, this retreat will help you with your writing, inspire and motivate you. And right now, there's a "bring a friend" discount! Check it out at www.bluelakecwr.com.

TERRY'S TEXAS RANGERS

Shock Troops! That's what a famous brigade known as Terry's Texas Rangers were known as during the War Between The States. Recruited by a wealthy sugar plantation owner, Benjamin Franklin Terry, in August, 1861, in Houston, TX, their first battle took place in Woodsonville, KY. It was only a minor skirmish, but Colonel Terry was killed.

Don't confuse this fierce fighting unit with what we now know as the Texas Rangers. This was the 8th Texas Cavalry, a group of Texas volunteers who became known for their fighting ability riding on horseback. They were one of the few units who did so.

After Colonel Terry's death they were subsequently joined to the Army of Tennessee and took part in several major battles including Shiloh and the battle for Atlanta. They were also used to go behind enemy lines to harass the Union troops by destroying railroad line and communication lines.

A statue was placed at the state capitol in Austin honoring this unique fighting unit. The inscription on the monument carries a quote by Jefferson Davis, "The Terry Rangers have done all that could be expected or required of soldiers." 

One of the characters from my Civil war novel set in Texas, His Steadfast Love, is a member of the famed Terry's Texas Rangers. If you are the first one to tell me which character that is, you win a copy of that exciting novel!

Golden Keyes Parsons writes historical fiction, and is also a popular retreat/conference speaker. Her highly acclaimed Darkness to Light Series (Thomas Nelson Publishing) chronicled the journey of her French Huguenot ancestors in 17^th century France. Her fourth novel, His Steadfast Love, is a Civil War novel set in Texas. Her latest release is a compilation of four novellas (WhiteFire Publishing) – a biblical fiction series entitled Hidden Faces, Portraits of Nameless Women in the Gospels. Golden lives in Waco, TX, with her husband, Blaine, where they enjoy their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and are avid sports fan of their alma mater, Baylor University. You can contact her at www.goldenkeyesparsons.com.

The U.S. Camel Corps

By Nancy J. Farrier

Imagine an 1800’s Cavalry charge. Men in blue charging full speed to rescue travelers in distress. Now, imagine those same cavalrymen on camels in the Southwest. This picture doesn’t have quite the same effect as the one with horses, yet for a short time, the Cavalry in the Southwest did experiment with the use of camels.

In 1855, Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis, approved the purchase of camels to use in the Southwest as an experiment in traversing the arid areas where they had little water. The first shipment of thirty-three camels arrived in Indianola, Texas in 1856. They were accompanied by an Arab caretaker, Hadji Ali, whom the cavalrymen renamed Hi Jolly. (Today, Hi Jolly’s tomb can be seen in Quartzite, Arizona.) A second shipment of over forty camels arrived the following year.

The camels were a mix of the Arabian camel with one hump, the Bactrian camel, which had two humps and a few cross breed camels, a mix of the first two. The hybrid camel was much larger and could carry twice the weight the other camels could—over 2,000 pounds. The camels proved themselves in many ways. They could go two days without water and carry approximately four times the amount of goods a mule could pack.

On the down side, the camels were temperamental. They were known to fight among themselves, spit at their handlers, and they smelled horrible. The Cavalry men, used to using force to get a mules attention found that when they slapped a camel, the animal would strike back. They were not docile at all. Plus, they scared the mules, horses and cattle to the point of sending them running.

Despite many successful trips with the camels, when the Civil War started, the use of camels discontinued. Some camels were sold to the Ringling Brothers circus, zoos or traveling shows. Some were used to carry mail or freight. Others were turned loose in the desert. Stories abound about the wild camels in the Southwest with many sightings, the last documented sighting in the early 1950’s.

One of the best known legends about camels, and my favorite, is the story of Red Ghost. Red Ghost appeared in Southeastern Arizona in the early 1880’s where two ranching families lived. One morning the men were gone and one of the women went to the spring for water while the other wife continued cleaning and watching the children. At the sound of screams, the woman in the house peered out the window expecting to see raiding Apaches. Instead, she was horrified to see a huge red beast, ridden by the devil, running through the yard. She barricaded the door trying to protect the children. The other woman didn’t return.

When the men came home that night they found the missing woman at the spring trampled almost beyond recognition. In the morning they found cloven hoof prints beside her; prints the size of horse’s hooves. Nearby they found long reddish hairs.

Not long afterwards, two prospectors were awakened in the middle of the night to the sound of

thundering hooves. The beast trampled their tent and they were sure they would be killed. The beast ran off without them getting a good look, but they were both very frightened.

Other people reported seeing the camel with the skeleton rider on its back. The angry beast was accused of tramping people and killing animals. Prospectors who finally caught sight of the animal tried to shoot it, but missed. However part of the rider became dislodged as the camel ran away. When they investigated, the men found a skeletal head on the ground.

Finally, a rancher managed to shoot the camel as it ate in his vegetable garden. He discovered the skeleton of a man, tied to the camel’s back. The straps had worn deep grooves into the animal’s hide, probably causing much pain and the reason for his bad temper.

A sad story, possibly embellished, but probably containing some truth too. I recall first reading this story in an Arizona newspaper archive years ago. I am fascinated by the possibility of truth in there, and love to consider how legends such as Red Ghost might have started. Have you heard of the camel corps? Have you heard any of the stories surrounding this interesting bit of history?

Let's start off the New Year with a giveaway. Leave a comment and you will be entered in a random drawing for a copy of my latest release, The Immigrant Brides, a collection of novellas and a $10 gift card. If you already have The Immigrant Brides, you can choose one of my previous releases.

Nancy J Farrier is an award winning author who lives in Southern California in the Mojave Desert. She loves the Southwest and interesting historical past. Nancy and her husband have five children. When Nancy isn’t writing, she loves to read, do needlecraft, play with her cats, and spend time with her family. Nancy is represented by Karen Ball of The Steve Laube Literary Agency. You can read more about Nancy and her books on her website: nancyjfarrier.com.