At Jefferson Davis' suggestion, in 1855 Congress bought some of these animals from Egypt for the Southwest
THE US ARMY CAMEL CORPS -Posted by ERIC SHARP ... [PAR] The suggestion that camels might fare better than these traditionally used mounts 
... and in some respects for speed also, the camel and dromedary (as the ... On 
March 3, 1855 Congress appropriated $30,000 for the project, and the ... charged 
by Secretary of War Jefferson Davis with the responsibility of... [DOC] [TLE] Mary Boykin Miller Chesnut, 1823-1886.