Campbell's Island, Illinois
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Campbell's Island | |
| Unincorporated | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Illinois |
| County | Rock Island County |
| Elevation | 571 ft (174 m) |
| Coordinates | |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
  Location of Campbell's Island within Illinois
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 Location of Illinois within the United States
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Campbell's Island is an island and unincorporated community in the Mississippi River. The island is located in Rock Island County, Illinois. It is adjacent to the city of East Moline and is connected to the city by a bridge. It is the site of the Campbell's Island State Memorial, a listed historic site overseen by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.
[edit] War of 1812
Campbell's Island was the site of one of the westernmost battles of the War of 1812, when a band of approximately 500 Sauk warriors allied with the British Army clashed on July 21, 1814 with a force of about 120 U.S. Army soldiers led by Lieutenant John Campbell. Campbell's forces were attempting to escort military supplies to Fort Shelby, located at the present site of Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.[1] The British-allied Indians were the winners, thereby helping to enable the Sauk to maintain their control over the Quad Cities area for almost 20 more years. A 1905 state monument commemorates this battle.
However, the movement of Euro-American militiamen and families into northwestern Illinois continued, and in the Black Hawk War of 1832 the Sauk were decisively defeated. The Quad Cities area was "opened to settlement," and Campbell's Island was named in honor of the loser of the 1814 battle, John Campbell.[2]
[edit] Today
The size and shape of Campbell's Island has been somewhat variable in historic times, due to additions and subtractions created by the power of the Mississippi River. Today, the island is approximately 1.25 miles (2 km) long and 0.5 miles (0.8 km) wide. It is the home of a suburban community that dwells on a ring road that circles the island. The low-lying Campbell's Island is subject to flooding, and many of the island homes are raised, built on stilts, or otherwise constructed so as to minimize damage during periods of high water such as the Great Flood of 1993. The bridge to East Moline was built in 1938 and completely rebuilt in 1999.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ "Rock Island (Campbell's Island)", U.S. National Park Service, accessed October 19, 2007.[1]
- ^ "Campbell's Island", Illinois State Historical Society (historic marker), accessed October 13, 2007.[2]
- ^ "Campbell's Island Bridge", Upper Mississippi River Bridges Project, accessed October 13, 2007.[3]
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