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The Untold Story of America's Desert Military Experiment
by Forrest Bryant Johnson
In the mid-nineteenth century, the U.S. Army would employ a weapon that had never before been seen on its native soil. From the Middle East came a cavalry mount that would fare better than both mules and horses in the American Southwest. Against the Mojave in the Arizona Territory... against the Mormons in Utah Territory... during the early stages of the Civil War, the camel would become one of America's great military experiments, and a nearly forgotten chapter of Americana.
The Last Camel Charge is the first book to tell the complete story and document in detail the military's experiment with camels. At the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848, a need emerged for control of - and transportation through - the country's vast new western territories. The hostile environment proved a challenge to the Army's traditional mounts, and in a radical move, the War Department ordered a Navy ship and its captain to the Mid-East to purchase camels and deliver them to an Army post in Texas.
The mission brought together an extraordinary group of people: Innovative rancher Samuel A. Bishop, whose desperation over the Mojave gave birth to the idea; Mexican War hero Lt. Edward F. Beale, placed in command of the newly arrived beasts, who would forge a wagon trail westward. At the same time, Colonel Albert S. Johnston was leading troops against the Mormons and Hadji "Hi Jolly" Ali, who accompanied the great beasts overseas, would become known as one of America's first Muslim immigrants.
Reaching speeds up to forty miles an hour, traveling days without water, and able to carry three times the weight of a mule, camels helped to subdue enemies, reach new frontiers, and unite a nation. And now, The Last Camel Charge gives them their due as a vital piece of American history.
"At least as interesting as the camel story is Johnson's vivid picture of America in the late 1850s under the Fillmore, Pierce and Buchanan presidencies." - Geoffrey Wawro, HistoryBookClub.com
"A fascinating portrait of the American West during its formative and most exciting period… Johnson reaches deep into the essence of how America came to be." - Bevin Alexandra, author of Sun Tzu at Gettysburg
This information about The Last Camel Charge was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Forrest Bryant Johnson was born in Louisville, KY and graduated from the University of Louisville. He served nine years with the U.S. Army, rising from the rank of Private to Captain. This background proved valuable for researching his latest historical nonfiction, The Last Camel Charge. Johnson, a resident of the southwest for thirty years, is an experienced explorer and conducts scenic off-road desert tours. He reports with authority on the history of the Mojave Desert and the plants and animals surviving in its harsh environment. He lives in Las Vegas and is the author of Hour of Redemption and Phantom Warrior. Visit him online at www.forrestbryantjohnson.com.
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