I'm wondering if they might be more useful in the southwest and west where army outposts are remote and heavy labor is more valuable than actually using them in combat.
I'm wondering if they might be more useful in the southwest and west where army outposts are remote and heavy labor is more valuable than actually using them in combat.
The southern US looks just fine for them - climate wise, it's similar to the natural range of Asian elephants today. Florida in particular, but also the southern portions of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi etc.
Imagine Sherman's March to the Sea with elephants as pack animals. No doubt the marchers would hate having to feed elephants, given the volume of food they consume, so many of them would be left to go wild.
Then the elephants start breeding in Georgia...
Elephants would only be worth discussing as pack animals with a sideline in heavy labor. They could be effective in the southeast, probably, especially away from rail lines.
The King of Siam thought it was a shame there were no elephant herds in North America and wanted remedy this by sending over a number of breeding pairs to the United States to be released into the wild here. He also mentioned that they would be useful to haul significant amounts of goods, which is where my earlier incorrect note that the elephants were for logistical use came from.
Can you imagine the absolute havoc that an invasive elephant population could wreak on southern US farmland?
Holy crap.
It would be kind of neat if some random rich and bored English guy had decided to establish a breeding population of elephants in the 17th century. I remember hearing once about a group that tried to bring every animal mentioned in Shakespeare's works to America so it wouldn't be entirely unprecedented.
Eugene Schieffelin and the American Acclimatization Society. He managed to introduce both starlings and house sparrows to N. America.
Eugene Schieffelin and the American Acclimatization Society. He managed to introduce both starlings and house sparrows to N. America.