Rock Island (Island), Illinois

City: Rock Island (Island)

County: Rock Island

State: Illinois

Later known as Arsenal Island, Rock Island lies on the Mississippi River between Davenport, Iowa and Rock Island, Illinois. A bridge connects the island to Rock Island City. In 1816, the U.S. Army in the aftermath of the War of 1812 fortified the island with the construction of Fort Armstrong. During the Civil War, the Union established an arsenal on the island, which remains one of the largest arsenals in the world. The Union also used the area as a prisoner of war camp, which operated from December 1863 to July 1865.

James N. Adams, comp., Illinois Place Names (Springfield: Illinois State Historical Society, 1989), 490-91; Courtlandt Canby, ed., The Encyclopedia of Historic Places (New York: Facts on File, 1984), 2:783.