The Rock Island Arsenal comprises located on Arsenal Island, originally known as Rock Island, on the Mississippi River between the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. It is home to the United States Army First Army Headquarters, and the United States Army Center of Excellence for Additive Manufacturing.
Historically, the indigenous Sauk people used Rock Island as their summer camp site. Encroaching European Americans coming into the area disputed the claim of tribal ownership, and competition between the peoples led to the Black Hawk War of 1832, named for Black Hawk, the primary leader of the Sauk. In 1816, the federal government authorized the army to build Fort Armstrong here, to protect shipping on the river in the aftermath of the War of 1812 with Great Britain. Decades after the Civil War, in the 1880s, the army established a foundry and armory here, manufacturing both military equipment and ordnance. In 1919–1920, one hundred of the Anglo-American or Liberty Mark VIII tanks were manufactured there, although too late for World War I. The base is now the largest government-owned weapons manufacturing arsenal in the United States. In 1988, the Arsenal was designated a National Historic Landmark.
At the turn of the 20th century, it manufactured both ordnance and leather accoutrements and field gear, for an army that still relied on horses for transportation and cavalry. Today, it provides manufacturing, logistics, and base support services for the United States Armed Forces. The Arsenal is the only active U.S. Army foundry, and manufactures ordnance and equipment, including artillery, gun mounts, recoil mechanisms, small arms, aircraft weapons sub-systems, grenade launchers, weapons simulators, and a host of associated components. Some of the Arsenal's most successful products include the M198 and M119 towed howitzers, and the gun mount for the M1 Abrams, main battle tank for the Army since the 1980s. About 250 military personnel and 6,000 civilians are employed there. The population from the 2020 census was 182 people.
History From 1816-1862, the site was known as Fort Armstrong. Before that, successive cultures of Native Americans had occupied it for thousands of years because of its strategic position along the Mississippi River. The United States took control of the island in 1804 through the Harrison Peace Treaty with the Chief of the Fox and Sac Tribes. From 1804 to 1812, the US Army did not occupy the island. It was the scene of a small conflict at the outbreak of the War of 1812 with Great Britain. Following that war, in 1814, it was the site of a U.S. Army expedition from St Louis to use the island as a guard post to control traffic on the Mississippi and maintain watch over the local Native Americans.
Black Hawk wrote in his memoir: "When we arrived we found that the troops had come to build a fort on Rock Island...We did not object, however, to their building their fort on the island, but were very sorry, as this was the best one on the Mississippi, and had long been the resort of our young people during the summer. It was our garden, like the white people have near their big villages, which supplied us with strawberries, blackberries, gooseberries, plums, apples and nuts of different kinds."
During the Civil War, the army converted some facilities and built more in 1863; these were not yet completed in December of that year, when the first Confederate prisoners of war were incarcerated there. The construction was makeshift. The first prisoners were 468 Confederates captured in battles at Chattanooga, Tennessee. That month more than 5,000 Confederates would swell the population of Rock Island military prison. They were kept in 84 barracks, each holding around 100 prisoners.The Civil War in America, The Library of Congress A total of 41 Confederate prisoners successfully escaped during the prison's operation, and many more would try but fail. They were deterred by the power of the Mississippi River.
A total of 1,964 Confederate prisoners and 125 Union guards are buried in the adjacent military cemetery. The Union guard burials included 49 African-American members of the 108th Colored Infantry, who had served as guards. Most of the men died from disease, since sanitation was primitive, as in all army encampments. In addition, they were exposed to high heat and humidity during the summers and freezing temperatures during winters. In 1864, deadly smallpox epidemics rapidly spread through the prison. The prison camp operated from December 1863 until July 1865, when the last prisoners were freed. After the war, the prison facility was completely destroyed. During its two years in operation, the prison camp housed a total of more than 12,400 Confederates.
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 railroad bridge built across the Mississippi.
Following the war, the federal government retained ownership of Arsenal Island. It developed the property for use as an arsenal and ordnance manufacturing center, which led to the island being renamed.
Women's history During the First World War, demand for war materials drastically increased; this increased the demand for skilled labor, but many men were drafted for the war. Women were hired to fill job vacancies at the arsenal. This is often referred to as the "women draft", as they had to backfill the men leaving to fight in order to keep satisfying the war demands from factory production. Rock Island Arsenal increased from having 175 female employees in 1914 to 300 in 1917, a dramatic change before women’s suffrage was approved. Women were absolutely critical to the success of the US buildup in World War I, and played an integral role in production at Rock Island Arsenal.
Early historical timeline
1809: Declared a federal military reservation by an Act of Congress 1816: Fort Armstrong built on the island 1818: George Davenport, U.S. Army sutler established trading post 1832: Served as U.S. Army HQ for Blackhawk War 1833: George Davenport mansion built 1836: Abandoned, but remained ordnance depot 1845: George Davenport killed by Banditti of the Prairie 1856: First railroad built across the Mississippi River 1862: Rock Island Arsenal (the name we know it to be today) established by an Act of Congress 1862: First Commanding Officer of Rock Island Major Charles P. Kingsbury 1863-1865: Rock Island Prison Barracks built to house Confederate soldiers 1865: Second Commanding Officer of Rock Island Arsenal, Brevet Brigadier General Thomas J. Rodman, also known as the Father of Rock Island Arsenal for his contributions 1867: Clock Tower Building erected; it survives and is used as the offices of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 1871: First military quarters built on Rock Island, an Italianate-style villa known as Quarters One. At 20,000 square feet, it is one of the largest government single-family residences in the United States 1872: First Government bridge built across the Mississippi River; replaced the railroad bridge destroyed by a steamboat
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 US after the West Point Museum. The museum has been closed twice, during World War I and World War II, to provide more space for manufacturing facilities.
Exhibits interpret the history of Rock Island Arsenal, the Union prison camp during the American Civil War, and the site's role as a military industrial facility. The museum contains the second-largest collection of small arms weapons in the U.S. Army, and an outdoor vehicle display.
+Exhibits include (as of 2012) Weapon Country of origin Period M1 75 mm Pack Howitzer 1927–present M40A1 106 mm Recoilless Rifle 1950s–present M45 Quadmount 50 caliber machine gun turret World War II – 1980s M14 conversion display to M14 Enhanced Battle Rifle (RI) 1959–present M65 Atomic Cannon 1953–1963 M198 155 mm towed howitzer 1979–present M119 105 mm towed howitzer 1989–present M115 8-inch towed howitzer 1931–1950s Type 59-1 130 mm Field Gun (Chinese version of Russian M46) 1954–present M22 or T9E1 Locust Light Tank World War II M4A3 Sherman Medium Tank with battle damage from the Battle of the Bulge in World War II with the 4th Armored Division World War II M50 Ontos self-propelled anti-tank gun 1956–1969 M51 Skysweeper towed anti-aircraft gun 1953–1975 M1 Bofors 40 mm anti-aircraft gun World War II D-44 85 mm Field Gun 1945–1953 M2A1 105 mm howitzer 1941–present XM123A1 Medium Auxiliary Propelled 155mm Howitzer (experimental model of M114 howitzer) 1961 XM124E2 Light Auxiliary Propelled 105 mm howitzer (experimental model of M2 or M101 howitzer) 1962–1965 M114 155 mm howitzer 1942–present M2A2 Terra Star Auxiliary Propelled Howitzer with tri-star wheels 1969–1977 15 cm Nebelwerfer 41 Multiple Rocket Launcher World War II XM70E2 Rocket Launcher 1959–1963 M5 3 inch anti-tank gun 1943–present M102 Lightweight 105 mm howitzer (Airmobile) 1964–present T66 or M16 4.5-inch Multiple Rocket Launcher 1945–1954 M3A1 37 mm Anti-tank Gun World War II M1 57 mm Anti-tank Gun World War II M3 105 mm light howitzer (airborne) 1943–present M55 self-propelled howitzer 1970s MGR-1 Honest John surface-to-surface missile 1954–1973 MGR-3 Little John surface-to-surface missile with XM80 launcher 1961–1969 ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" self-propelled anti-aircraft gun 1962–present
Education The census-designated place is physically divided between two school districts: Rock Island–Milan School District 41 to the west and Moline-Coal Valley School District 40 to the east. - Text list The garrison provides a school bus service to the Moline district; the local school districts do not have school bus service. , the majority of military families live in housing in the wider area, as the Military One Source stated "Government housing is limited."
See also List of Civil War POW prisons and camps List of National Historic Landmarks in Illinois
References
External links
The Rock Island Arsenal Joint Manufacturing & Technology Center (archive link) The Rock Island Arsenal profile at globalsecurity.org Rock Island Arsenal Museum (archive link)
Rock Island Memorial POW Camp #2229 Rock Island Arsenal Wikimapia Visitor Request Form Flood Watch Service United States Army Official History of Rock Island Arsenal