Nearest city Moline, Illinois Area 18 ha Year built 1863 | NRHP Reference # 97000560 Phone +1 309-782-2094 Added to NRHP 13 June 1997 | |
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Location 0.25 mi N of southern tip of Rock Island MPS Civil War Era National Cemeteries MPS Address Bldg, 118, Rock Island Arsenal, IL 61265, United States Burials Thomas Jackson Rodman, Frank P. Witek, Edward J. Moskala, Ralph Ignatowski, Big Jeff Pfeffer, Lou Kolls Similar Rock Island Arsenal, Little Rock National Cemetery, Marietta National Cemetery, Beverly National Cemetery, Culpeper National Cemetery | ||
Rock Island National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located within Rock Island Arsenal near the city of Rock Island, Illinois. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses 66 acres (27 ha), 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 use of college students during the summer to reset and realign stones. When looking from any one stone there should be seven lines visible and all should be straight.
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History
The cemetery was established in 1863 as a place to inter the remains of American Civil War Union army soldiers. Its initial placement interfered with expansion of the Arsenal's facilities, so it was moved to a location on the northern end of the island. Civil War veterans who were interred in Oakdale Cemetery in Davenport, Iowa, were later disinterred and moved to the National Cemetery. Property transfers from the Arsenal in 1926, 1936, and 1950 increased the cemetery's area. There are plans for further expansion of this cemetery including an addition pavilion, more land, and a wall for cremations near the tank track.
A second, 2-acre (0.81 ha) cemetery was established near Rock Island National Cemetery to bury Confederate prisoners of war, nearly two thousand of which would die while in captivity on the island, primarily from the harsh living conditions.