[More descriptions of Rock Island Prison] [posted 26 Jun 2008] Official Communications. Confederate Cemetery and Rock Island, Ill. Office of the Chief of Ordnance, United States Army, Washington, D.C. February 26, 1895. Gen. John C. Underwood, U.C.V. etc: My Dear General- In compliance with your request that I give you a short description of my work in grading and fitting up the Confederate Soldiers' cemetery at Rock Island arsenal while that arsenal was under my command, I take pleasure in stating as follows: This cemetery consists of a plot of ground 263 feet 7 inches by 266 feet 7 inches, as shown on accompanying map, and the burials in it were the bodies of soldiers who died from sickness and wounds from the hospital attached to the military prison on the island or Rock Island during our civil war. There were 1,960 buried there. Many of these burials were made during the extreme cold of winter, when the ground was frozen to a depth of from three to four feet, and the difficulties of excavation had left the ground quite rough... ========================== "The Army of the United States", Theophilus F. Rodenbough, 1896 pp. 63-64 Military Prison By act of Congress approved March 3, 1873, there was established at Rock Island, Ill., a prison for the confinement of offenders against the rules, regulations and laws for the government of the army of the United States, and subsequently by act approved May 21, 1874, the military prison was transferred to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. ========================= "Personal recollections of the War of the Rebellion", series IV, ed. by A. Noel Blakeman, 1912. p. 275 The report of Surgeon A.M. Clark, Medical Inspector of Prisoners of War, dated April 8, 1864, and applying to the prison at Rock Island, Ill., gives a fair idea of conditions existing at all the Northern prisons named below. From this I abstract as follows: "Barracks well warmed by stoves. Cooking done by detail. Kitchens and utensils generally clean and in good order. Rations sufficient in quantity and of good quality. All prisoners (6950) well supplied with blankets, and in general well clothed. Policing of barracks and grounds not satisfactory, must be improved. Drainage ordered but not completed. Sinks well arranged. Laundry. Caldrons provided but not enough used by prisoners. Hospital-560 beds- 17 surgeons." ... Certainly our Government dealt with its prisoners with conscientious regard for life, and in no niggardly spirit. ========================= "The Rock River Valley", Royal Brunson Way, 1926. p. 708 By act of Congress, approved July 11, 1862, a national arsenal was located on Rock Island and $100,000 was appropriated for buildings. The original intention was to use the establishment for storage and repairs only. Major C.P. Kingsbury was assigned as the first commandant, his administration commencing in July, 1863. In that year was begun the first permanent building of the arsenal, on the site of Fort Armstrong at the west end of the island. This massive limestone structure, with its clock tower facing in four directions, wsa designed as a storehouse. For years, it has been used only incidentally and has been condemned, but public and historic sentiment has kept it standing, as one of the most interesting landmarks of the Rock Island Arsenal. The Military Prison (1863-1865) It was during the early portion of Major Kingsbury's administration that the Military Prison for captured confederates was established on the north side of the island near the river front and about midway between the east and west ends. The buildings were intended to accomodate 13,000, but the prison was never filled to its capacity. It took the form of a rectangle, the northeast corner being opposite the lower end of Papoose island. The fourteen rows of one-story buildings, each 100 feet in length, showed unpainted exteriors and unplastered interiors. A kitchen was located in one end of each building. Double- decked bunks were provided for sleeping purposes, each building housing 120 men. The death rate was high, more than 1,900 men expiring of disease in the two years that the prison was maintained. A few prisoners escaped and several were killed in an attempt to do so. East of the main shop buildings and south of Main Avenue is the cemetery in which the confederate dead lie buried. At the head of each of the two thousand graves is a permanent marker, giving name, regiment and state of deceased. Farther east is the cemetery in which lie five hundred Union soldiers, many of whom served at the Rock Island post. The Union burial grounds are open to receive the remains of any American soldier, and it is the custom to hold Memorial Day services at this locality. Both burial grounds are surrounded by trees and guarded by old cannon, and the premises are carefully maintained... p. 709 ...Prior to the recognition by the government of the desirability of the Island of Rock Island as the proper site for the location of an arsenal and an armory, a portion of the land had been sold by special act of Congress to the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad. East