I just purchased at a secondhand bookstore in Galesburg, Illinois, An Illustrated History of the Rock Island Arsenal and Arsenal Island. Lt. Robert E. Lee, assisted by ( Quatermaster General ) Montgomery Meigs, in 1837, surveyed the upper rapids of the Mississippi River at Rock Island. Meigs saw the advantage of the island, and, in 1863, ordered Capt. Charles A. Reynolds to construct a POW prison barracks to accommodate 10,000. Some 12,192 Confederate prisoners were confined there during its 20 month existence. 1,964 prisoners died at the barracks and are buried in the Confederate cemetery located on the island.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 23:45:08 +0000
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