The first elephant was brought to the United States in what year?

1796

Right again.

For those who are interested, I fopund this reference:
Elephants in the zoo and circus. Documentation Part 2: North America. 200 years of elephant keeping in North America 1796-1996. Haufellner, Alexander; Schilfarth, Jurgen; Schweiger, Georg (Eds.) 1997. Language: German. Descriptors: zoo and wildlife parks, captive care history 1796-1996.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/awic/pubs/elephants/1997.htm

And this
1796
First elephant brought to the United States from Calcutta.
- http://www.getty.edu