Douglas The Camel, or “Old Douglas,” was a domesticated camel used by Company A of the Forty-third Mississippi Infantry, part of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Because of Old Douglas,the 43rd Mississippi Infantry came to be known as the Camel Regiment, Douglas was originally part of a U.S. War Department program called the Texas Camel Experiment, which aimed to experiment with camels as a possible alternative to horses and mules, which were dying of dehydration in vast numbers. Jefferson Davis, who had ascended to the position of United States Secretary of War in 1853, was a strong proponent of the program, and used his political influence to make the experiment happen. Although the details are unknown, Douglas somehow made his way to Mississippi, and eventually died,