Rock Island Arsenal
Encyclopedia
The Rock Island Arsenal comprises 946 acre (3.8 km²; 1.5 sq mi), located on Arsenal Island, originally known as Rock Island, on the Mississippi River
between the cities of Davenport, Iowa
, and Rock Island, Illinois
. It lies within the state of Illinois
. The island was originally established as a government site in 1816, with the building of Fort Armstrong
. It is now the largest government-owned weapons manufacturing arsenal
in the United States
. It has been an active manufacturer of military equipment and ordnance since the 1880s. In 1919-20 100 of the Anglo-American or Liberty Mark VIII tanks were manufactured, although too late for World War I. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark
.
Established as both an arsenal and a center for the manufacture of leather accoutrements and field gear, today it provides manufacturing
, logistics
, and base support services for the Armed Forces
. The Arsenal is the only active U.S. Army
foundry, and manufactures ordnance and equipment, including artillery
, gun mount
s, recoil mechanisms
, small arms
, aircraft weapons sub-systems, grenade launcher
s, weapons simulators
, and a host of associated components. Some of the Arsenal's most successful products include the M198
and M119
towed howitzer
s, and the M1A1 gun mount. About 250 military personnel and 6,000 civilians work there. The 2000 census population was 145.
During the Civil War
, Arsenal Island was home to a large Union army
prison camp
for captured Confederate
soldiers (the Rock Island Prison Barracks). The island facilities were converted and built in 1863 and was not yet completed in December of that year when the first Confederate prisoners were incarcerated. The construction was make-shift and was built with little notice of prisoners arriving. 468 Confederate prisoners captured in battles at Chattanooga, Tennessee were the first to arrive, although, over 5000 total would swell the population of Rock Island Prison in that month alone. A total of forty one Confederate prisoners successfully escaped during the prison’s existence while many more would try but fail.
A total of 1,964 Confederate prisoners and 125 Union guards are buried in the adjacent military cemetery, including 49 members of the 108th Regiment of United States Colored Troops
, most of which died from disease or exposure. The prison camp was operational from December 1863 until July 1865 when the last prisoners were freed and sent home. After the war the prison facility was completely destroyed. During its two years in operation, the prison camp housed over 12,400 different Confederates. Following the war, the government retained ownership of Arsenal Island and used it for various functions. See also: Prisoner camps of the Civil War
Other historical sites in the area include the Confederate Cemetery, the Rock Island National Cemetery
, 19th century stone workshops, officers' quarters along the river, Col. Davenport's House, and the site of the first bridge built across the Mississippi.
and World War II
, to provide more space for manufacturing facilities. Exhibits focus on the history of Rock Island Arsenal and Arsenal Island's use as a Union prison
camp during the American Civil War
. The museum also contains an extensive collection of small arms weapons & Outdoor Vehicle display.
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
between the cities of Davenport, Iowa
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
, and Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island is the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,884 at the 2010 census. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities...
. It lies within the state of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. The island was originally established as a government site in 1816, with the building of Fort Armstrong
Fort Armstrong
Fort Armstrong , was one of a chain of western frontier defenses which the United States erected after the War of 1812. It was located at the foot of Rock Island, Illinois, in the Mississippi River between present-day Illinois and Iowa. It was five miles from the principal Sac and Fox village on...
. It is now the largest government-owned weapons manufacturing arsenal
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It has been an active manufacturer of military equipment and ordnance since the 1880s. In 1919-20 100 of the Anglo-American or Liberty Mark VIII tanks were manufactured, although too late for World War I. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
.
Established as both an arsenal and a center for the manufacture of leather accoutrements and field gear, today it provides manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
, logistics
Logistics
Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...
, and base support services for the Armed Forces
Military of the United States
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
. The Arsenal is the only active U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
foundry, and manufactures ordnance and equipment, including artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
, gun mount
Weapon mount
A weapon mount is a weapon component used to secure an armament. Weapon mounts can be broken down into two categories: static mounts and non-static mounts.-Static mount:...
s, recoil mechanisms
Recoil
Recoil is the backward momentum of a gun when it is discharged. In technical terms, the recoil caused by the gun exactly balances the forward momentum of the projectile and exhaust gasses, according to Newton's third law...
, small arms
Small arms
Small arms is a term of art used by armed forces to denote infantry weapons an individual soldier may carry. The description is usually limited to revolvers, pistols, submachine guns, carbines, assault rifles, battle rifles, multiple barrel firearms, sniper rifles, squad automatic weapons, light...
, aircraft weapons sub-systems, grenade launcher
Grenade launcher
A grenade launcher or grenade discharger is a weapon that launches a grenade with more accuracy, higher velocity, and to greater distances than a soldier could throw it by hand....
s, weapons simulators
Simulation
Simulation is the imitation of some real thing available, state of affairs, or process. The act of simulating something generally entails representing certain key characteristics or behaviours of a selected physical or abstract system....
, and a host of associated components. Some of the Arsenal's most successful products include the M198
M198 howitzer
The M198 howitzer is a medium-sized, towed artillery piece, developed for service with the United States Army and Marine Corps. It was commissioned to be a lightweight replacement for the WWII era M114 155mm howitzer. It was designed and prototyped at the Rock Island Arsenal in 1969 with firing...
and M119
M119 howitzer
The M119 Howitzer is a lightweight 105-mm howitzer used by the United States Army. It can be easily airlifted, even by helicopter, or dropped by parachute. It does not need a recoil pit.-Development:...
towed howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
s, and the M1A1 gun mount. About 250 military personnel and 6,000 civilians work there. The 2000 census population was 145.
During the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Arsenal Island was home to a large Union army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
prison camp
Internment
Internment is the imprisonment or confinement of people, commonly in large groups, without trial. The Oxford English Dictionary gives the meaning as: "The action of 'interning'; confinement within the limits of a country or place." Most modern usage is about individuals, and there is a distinction...
for captured Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
soldiers (the Rock Island Prison Barracks). The island facilities were converted and built in 1863 and was not yet completed in December of that year when the first Confederate prisoners were incarcerated. The construction was make-shift and was built with little notice of prisoners arriving. 468 Confederate prisoners captured in battles at Chattanooga, Tennessee were the first to arrive, although, over 5000 total would swell the population of Rock Island Prison in that month alone. A total of forty one Confederate prisoners successfully escaped during the prison’s existence while many more would try but fail.
A total of 1,964 Confederate prisoners and 125 Union guards are buried in the adjacent military cemetery, including 49 members of the 108th Regiment of United States Colored Troops
United States Colored Troops
The United States Colored Troops were regiments of the United States Army during the American Civil War that were composed of African American soldiers. First recruited in 1863, by the end of the Civil War, the men of the 175 regiments of the USCT constituted approximately one-tenth of the Union...
, most of which died from disease or exposure. The prison camp was operational from December 1863 until July 1865 when the last prisoners were freed and sent home. After the war the prison facility was completely destroyed. During its two years in operation, the prison camp housed over 12,400 different Confederates. Following the war, the government retained ownership of Arsenal Island and used it for various functions. See also: Prisoner camps of the Civil War
Other historical sites in the area include the Confederate Cemetery, the Rock Island National Cemetery
Rock Island National Cemetery
Rock Island National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located within Rock Island Arsenal near the city of Rock Island, Illinois. It encompasses , and as of the end of 2006, had 24,525 interments. The cemetery is also nearing compliance with the National Shrine guidelines, due to its...
, 19th century stone workshops, officers' quarters along the river, Col. Davenport's House, and the site of the first bridge built across the Mississippi.
Rock Island Arsenal Museum
The Rock Island Arsenal Museum was established on July 4, 1905. It is the second-oldest US Army Museum in the United States after the West Point Museum. The museum has been closed down twice, during World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, to provide more space for manufacturing facilities. Exhibits focus on the history of Rock Island Arsenal and Arsenal Island's use as a Union prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
camp during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The museum also contains an extensive collection of small arms weapons & Outdoor Vehicle display.
Literary References
- In the 1936 Margaret MitchellMargaret MitchellMargaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American author and journalist. Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937 for her epic American Civil War era novel, Gone with the Wind, which was the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime.-Family:Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta,...
novel Gone with the WindGone with the WindThe slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free...
, Ashley WilkesAshley WilkesGeorge Ashley Wilkes is a fictional character in the Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and the later film of the same name. The character also appears in the 1991 book Scarlett, a sequel to Gone with the Wind written by Alexandra Ripley, and in Rhett Butler's People by Donald...
was imprisoned on Arsenal Island during the Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
See also
- List of Civil War POW Prisons and Camps
- American Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
- Prison campPrison campPrison camp may be:* Concentration or internment camp* Federal prison camp, low-security facility among those on list of U.S. federal prisons* Labor camp* Death or extermination camp* Prisoner-of-war camp...
External links
- The Rock Island Arsenal Homepage
- The Rock Island Arsenal Joint Manufacturing & Arsenal at GlobalSecurity.org Technology Center
- The Rock Island Arsenal profile at globalsecurity.org
- The Rock Island Arsenal Museum
- Rock Island Civil War prison
- Rock Island National Cemetery, Arsenal, and Confederate POW Camp
- Rock Island Memorial POW Camp #2229