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In the mid-nineteenth century, the U.S. Army was on the verge of employing a weapon that had never before been seen on its native soil: 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 part of military history and a nearly forgotten chapter of Americana.
This is the true story of that experiment and the extraordinary group of people who it brought together. The Last Camel Charge gives them their due as a vital piece of American history.
INCLUDES PHOTOS
VGV
Posted May 7, 2012
Every so often an author creates a sold book chock full of excitement, suspense and an almost romantic view of history. Books that come to mind are The Killer Angels and The Red Badge of Courage. What makes them classics is that they approach history from the personal touch, not from the historical. It would be wrong to classify The Last Camel Charge as mesmerizing, suspenseful, catastrophic or a page-tuner, a can't-put-it-down book. Better to let the reader immerse himself in something special, the love of men for camels, their entrance into the Southwest, their superiority over horses and mules, and their moment of greatness.
Read The Last Camel Charge and all of these terms will present themselves. There will be but one sadness as you read it. That will come when the book is ended and there is finally no more to enjoy. Your adventure into history will have ended and there will be sorrow the Charge is done. And that is when you will again life Forrest Johnson's monumental work and read it again, for it is that kind of book.
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Overview
In the mid-nineteenth century, the U.S. Army was on the verge of employing a weapon that had never before been seen on its native soil: 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 part of military history and a nearly forgotten chapter of ...