(1860 - 1871)
Camp Cady was located on the
Mojave Road
which connected
Los Angeles to Albuquerque. Non-Indian travel on this
and the nearby Salt Lake Road
(Old Spanish Trail)
was beset by
Paiute,
Mohave, and
Chemuehuevi
Indians defending their homeland.
To protect both roads, Camp Cady was established by
U.S. Dragoons in 1860. The main building was a stout
mud redoubt. Improved camp structures were built in 1868.
After peace was established, the military withdrew in
1871. This protection provided by Camp Cady enabled travelers,
merchandise, and mail using both roads to boost California's
economy and growth.
Also see:
Military in the Mojave
People in the Mojave
Native Culture
Roads & Trails
Mojave Desert Rivers
Desert Habitats:
"Half a days pull through heavy sandy and gravelly wastes brought us to this God-forsaken Botany Bay of a place, the meanest I ever saw for a military station, where four officers and a handful of men manage to exist in some unexplained way in mud and brush hovels." - Elliot Coues, 1865