The Confederate States of America did not know what to do with the camels. Many camels escaped and roamed freely around Kerr and Bandera counties. The camels that Confederates managed to corral were used to haul cotton to Mexico. An overland route was necessary because of the federal sea blockade. Each camel carried two bales, one on each side, to Matamoros, Mexico and returned with a load of salt. The camels were obnoxious, especially when they were in town. In Brownsville, the camels were known for smelling awful and scaring horses. They were also renowned for spitting and kicking dirt on townspeople. Local officials passed an ordinance during the war making it illegal to walk a camel on city streets.
Some 600 Union soldiers captured leaving Texas early in the Civil War were confined in “Prison Canyon” (29°53.415'N99°7.669'W) immediately southwest of the army camp. Some accounts say the Camp Verde soldiers were taken to this stockade. This prisoner of war camp featured 3 cliffs, described as "very difficult to ascend" surrounding the confinement area. Prisoners, held from Aug. 1861 until sometime in 1862, were allowed to build shacks and get adequate exercise with little risk of escape.
A second Camp Verde, close to old Camp Verde in Kerr County, was established on March 31, 1862, by James M. Norris as a ranger station for the Frontier Regiment. The Regiment was established on December 21, 1861, by the Texas legislature, to replace the (Confederate) First Regiment, Texas Mounted Riflemen. It was staffed by members of Charles S. DeMontel's company and served as a frontier outpost, probably until the consolidation of the regiment in March 1864. This other Camp Verde, (C.S.A.) , the Texas Frontier Regiment outpost, was part of Red River-Rio Grande line of posts; these camps were a day's horseback ride apart. The troops furnished their own guns and horses, but often lacked food, clothing, and supplies. Still, scouting parties and patrols effectively held down the Indian raids until war's end.