Greetings to my Wisconsin Brothers on this list! I'm up to my Confederate neck in research on several Southern fronts and need some WI help. I'm looking for any Federal/Wisconsin references to a certain unusual pet that the 43rd MS Infantry had during the Iuka, Corinth, Central MS Railroad, and Vicksburg Campaigns!

As Wisconsin was heavily involved in these, I thought I'd ask my Northern Brethren to check their files for any references to Dromedaries and Bactrians!

I am looking for further references about the 43rd's camel! The 43rd MS Infantry had a camel named "Old Douglas" who was with them at Iuka, Corinth, and Vicksburg, where he was killed by a sniper and eaten (!) by a portion of the starving garrison. I am looking for additional quotes about this animal as part of my research on the 43rd MS, known early in the war as "the Camel Regiment"!

I have the two Confederate Veteran accounts, the MO account of Bevier, and the TX account of Barron, Jim Miles' account from "A River Unvexed," and T.T. Smith's 43rd MS diary account of a man killed when the camel stampeded the regiment's horses. I am looking for any other accounts -- manuscript, regimental, magazine, etc. Still looking for data from all states, including MS, MO, and TX.

All data welcome. I know that Kitchens referenced the camel in Chapter 5, page 33, of "Rosecrans Meets Price," but I haven't been able to find that book yet. I also know that Albert Casteel wrote about the camel in an article for Civil War Times Illustrated entitled "The Diary of Gen. Henry Little, C.S.A.," which I also don't have.

I am sure that there must be a dozen or more other accounts out there! It is said that a Northern officer in command of a sharpshooter squad is actually responsible for the animal's death, so someone on this board may have seen some reference to the old beast, which was with the Army of Vicksburg from Fall '62 until near the end at Vicksburg.

If you know of any sources, please contact me! Happy to share what I already have with any interested person. Many thanks, Wisconsin! (Can you still get Leinenkugels [sp] beer up there?) -- Jim Huffman