Old Douglas: The Camel Who Marched to War

When people think of the American Civil War, they imagine soldiers in blue and gray, 12 pounder cannons, and battles from Gettysburg to Shiloh. But few would picture a camel trekking through camp alongside Confederate infantrymen. Yet that’s exactly what happened.

Old Douglas was a dromedary camel, and his journey into American military history began long before the Civil War. In the 1850s, the U.S. Army launched what became known as the Camel Corps experiment. The idea, backed by then Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis, (yes that one you may have heard of) was to import camels from the Middle East and North Africa to serve as pack animals in the dry and rugged terrain of the American Southwest. Camels proved more durable than horses or mules, but the project never gained long-term support. By the time the Civil War broke out, the camels were scattered or sold off.

One of those camels, Douglas, ended up in the ranks of the 43rd Mississippi Infantry. Though he startled horses and drew curious stares, he was used to carry gear and supplies and quickly became a familiar presence in the regiment. To many of the men, he was more than just a beast of burden. He was part of the unit.

Douglas marched with the soldiers, stood by during long encampments, and endured the same conditions they did. When the regiment came under fire at the Siege of Vicksburg, Douglas was shot and killed by a Union sharpshooter. Reports say the men were furious. Some stories claim they hunted down the shooter. Others say they gave Douglas a soldier’s burial not as a mascot, but as a comrade.

That story might sound strange or even absurd but for me, it resonates deeply.

I served as an infantryman in Afghanistan. We didn’t have camels in our ranks (although I saw plenty of them), but we did have stray dogs that wandered into our outposts and decided to stay. They weren’t official, they didn’t follow orders, but they were ours. In a place where everything was harsh and uncertain, those dogs gave us comfort. They made us laugh. They reminded us we were human.

I understand why the men of the 43rd Mississippi loved Old Douglas. War strips everything down to survival, but even in that environment, small sources of connection and companionship become something sacred. Whether it’s a dog in a forward operating base in the mountains of Afghanistan or a camel in a Civil War camp in Mississippi, those moments of familiarity mean more than people realize.

Old Douglas may seem like a historical oddity and he is a “Wacky Wednesday” kind of fact. But his story is more than that. It’s a reminder of how strange, human, and deeply personal war really is. He may have looked out of place in the American South, but to the men who marched beside him, Douglas belonged as one of their own.

And honestly he deserves to be remembered that way. Just like I remember the dogs in Afghanistan.

Sources:

American Battlefield Trust – Old Douglas the Camel: https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/old-douglas-camel

Daniel, Larry J. Cannoneers in Gray: The Field Artillery of the Army of Tennessee, 1861–1865. University of Alabama Press, 2012.

Harris, David. The United States Camel Corps: An Army Experiment. Texas A&M University Press, 2006.

U.S. Army Center of Military History – The Camel Corps: https://history.army.mil/news/2011/110400a_camel.html