Camp Cady

Camp Cady. . , In 1857 former Navy Lt. Edward Beale opened a wagon road along the 35th parallel while also testing camels for desert transport. He crossed the Colorado near Needles, CA. By 1858 the U.S. mail was running over this route. In August 1858 a wagon train using Beale's road attempted to cross the river but was attacked and turned back by the Mojaves, whose villages were nearby. As a result, in April 1859 500 soldiers under Maj. William Hoffman established Fort Mojave a few miles to the north on the Arizona side of the river. , After a failed attempt to supply the fort by steamboat, a road was built from Los Angeles, largely following an ancient Mojave trail to the Pacific coast. This became the Mojave (or Government) Road. Due to its length (ca 235 mi) military posts were required along the way. Most important was Camp Cady, established April 1860 about 20 mi east of Barstow and 9 mi east of Forks of the Road. The forks marked the junction of the Old Spanish Trail from Santa Fe to Los Angeles (the southern portion later became the Mormon or Salt Lake Trail) and the Mojave Road. It thus was well-situated to command both routes. The small camp was founded by 80 troopers of Companies B and K, 1st Dragoon Regiment, under the command of Maj. James H. Carleton. He named it for his friend, Maj. Albemarle Cady. The soldiers built a stout adobe fortification 40 ft square. After three months of campaigning, the desert roads were again deemed safe for travel, and on July 3, 1860 Carleton signed a treaty with local tribes and immediately abandoned the post. , With the coming of war in 1861 regular troops left for the east, and the roads were patrolled by California volunteers. In April 1865 men of the 4th California Cavalry re-garrisoned the post for almost a year, building 35 structures before departing. At this time an estimated 2,000 wagons traveled the Mojave Road each year. The camp was manned yet again in June 1866, was upgraded and improved in 1868, and deserted for good in 1871. Recent flooding has destroyed access to an ECV plaque placed near the site, about 4 mi west of here, in 1994. It is hard to think of regular army troops manning remote forts in the California desert, but they nonetheless served here under incredibly harsh conditions. By the luck of the draw, some soldiers from the same pool of recruits went on to “glory” fighting Indian tribes on the great plains while others found themselves stationed in small, primitive posts such as Camp Cady.