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==Use in the Southwest==
[[File:US Camel Corp 1.jpg|thumb|Camel at [[Drum Barracks]], San Pedro, California (1863 or earlier)]]Wayne attempted a breeding program for the camels, but his plans were put aside when Secretary Davis wrote that the animals were to be tested to determine if they could be used to accomplish a military objective.<ref name=USDA/>{{rp|401–402}}<ref name=TSHA/>{{rp|30}}
In 1857, [[James Buchanan]] became [[President of the United States|President]], [[John B. Floyd]] succeeded Davis as Secretary of War, and Wayne, who was reassigned to duties with the Quartermaster General in Washington, DC, was replaced by Captain [[Innis N. Palmer]].<ref name=TSHA/>{{rp|36}} Also in 1857, in response to a citizen petition to establish a road connecting the East and West, Congress authorized a contract to survey a wagon road along the thirty-fifth parallel from [[Fort Defiance, Arizona|Fort Defiance, New Mexico Territory]], to the [[Colorado River]] on what is now the Arizona/California border.<ref name="Army’s “Camel Corps”"/>{{rp|13}} Former Navy lieutenant Edward Fitzgerald Beale won the contract and learned afterward that Secretary Floyd required him to take twenty-five camels with him.<ref name="Army’s “Camel Corps”"/>{{rp|14}} The first part of the trip required traveling from Camp Verde through [[San Antonio, Texas.|San Antonio, Texas]]; [[Fort Davis, Texas]]; [[El Paso, Texas]]; and [[Albuquerque, New Mexico|Albuquerque, New Mexico Territory]], to Fort Defiance. The expedition left San Antonio on June 25, 1857, and twenty-five pack camels accompanied a train of mule-drawn wagons. Each camel carried a load of 600 pounds. Beale wrote very favorably about the camels endurance and packing abilities. Among his comments was that he would rather have one camel than four mules.<ref name=TSHA/>{{rp|38}} Beale's comments led Floyd to report to Congress that camels had proved to be successful as a mode of transportation and to recommend that Congress authorize the purchase of an additional one thousand animals. Congress did not act. Beale and his party reached the Colorado River on October 26, 1857. After crossing into California, Beale used the camels for various purposes on his ranch near [[Bakersfield]]. Beale offered to keep the Army's camels on his property, but Union Secretary of War [[Edwin Stanton]] rejected the offer.<ref name=USDA/>{{rp|405}}<ref name=TSHA/>{{rp|39–40}}
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