All visitors are required to enter the Rock Island Arsenal over the Moline Bridge, which is accessed from 14th Street, Moline, IL. Military
Funeral Honors
Rock Island National Cemetery was established within the confines of the U.S. Arsenal located on Rock Island in the Mississippi River near the cities of Davenport, Iowa, and Moline, Ill. In 1863 an area was set aside to bury Union soldiers who died while serving as guards at the large Confederate prison camp established on Rock Island by the U.S. government. In 1868, the inspector of national cemeteries reported that the Rock Island cemetery contained 136 remains, including seven unknowns and six women and children. He described it as rectangle of 216 feet by 96 feet, enclosed with a “paling fence.” At the time, the arsenal’s commanding officer, General Thomas Rodman, indicated that the location of the burial area would ultimately conflict with his plans for extending arsenal-complex buildings. He recommended the remains of individuals currently interred at Rock Island be moved to the upper end of the island; the inspector of national cemeteries further suggested that Civil War decedents interred in Oakdale Cemetery in Davenport, Iowa, be removed to the new site on Rock Island, as well. Subsequent property transfers from the Rock Island Arsenal Reservation in 1926, 1936 and 1950 brought the national cemetery to its present 31.5 acres. Today, Rock Island is the
final resting place of soldiers who served in the Civil War, as well as
the Mexican War, Indian Wars, Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II,
Korea and Vietnam. Rock
Island Confederate Cemetery
Medal of Honor Recipients Private First Class Frank
Peter Witek (World War II), 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 3rd Marine Division.
Battle of Finegayen at Guam, Mariana’s, Aug. 3, 1944 (Section E,
Grave 72).
Cemetery policies are conspicuously posted and readily visible to the public. Floral arrangements accompanying the casket or urn at the time of burial will be placed on the completed grave. They will be removed when they become unsightly or when it becomes necessary to facilitate cemetery operations such as mowing. Flowers and containers. Fresh cut flowers may be placed on the gravesite at any time. Temporary flower containers are provided for your convenience and are the property of the cemetery. Please do not remove these containers from the cemetery grounds. Under no circumstances will items be tied, wired, glued, or otherwise attached to the headstone or marker. Permanent flower containers are no longer permitted. Artificial flowers. Artificial flowers will be permitted on the gravesite during the period October 10 through April 15. (Easter specific artificial decorations will be removed and discarded beginning the 2nd Monday after Easter to facilitate preparations for Memorial Day.) Christmas Decorations, wreaths, grave blankets (no larger than 3 feet by 5 feet), etc., are permitted beginning the Friday after Thanksgiving. They will be removed beginning March 1st each year. Decorations removed from the gravesites will be discarded. Potted plants. While they are not suggested, because of damage to the grass, live potted plants will be permitted on the gravesite for a period 10 days before through 10 days after Easter and Veterans Day. They are permitted the Friday before through the Sunday after Memorial Day. (It is recommended that the family remove potted plants as soon as possible to minimize damage to the grass and/or headstone/marker.) Unauthorized decorations. The following items are not permitted on the gravesite: Potted plants (except as above), statues, permanent plantings, vigil lights, breakable items (i.e., glass/ceramic vases), balloons, toys, stuffed animals, shepherd's hooks or similar devices, U. S. Flags (except on Memorial Day weekend), other similar commemorative items or markers, and items degrading to the country. Perpetual care. Guidelines
provide for grounds maintenance, cutting the grass and trimming around
the headstones/markers, and all areas of the Cemetery on a weekly basis.
This includes the removal and disposal of unauthorized grave decorations
and artificial arrangements (except during periods specified above). Fresh
cut floral arrangements will be removed from the gravesite and disposed
of by cemetery personnel when they become withered, faded, or otherwise
unsightly. Any decorations or floral items that have been displaced from
the gravesites, due to wind or other factors out of our control, will
be removed from the graves and disposed of by cemetery personnel.
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Last Update: August 25, 2004
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