In July 1862, Pres. Abraham Lincoln signed legislation to create Rock Island Arsenal, envisioning a supply and maintenance facility. After the Civil War, Rock Island became home to a great national arsenal. It made everything soldiers needed and supplied saddles, rifles, canteens, haversacks, artillery, tanks, and ammunition to the Army on the frontier and around the world. Rock Island Arsenal, located on an island in the Mississippi River, has long been the center of the local Illinois-Iowa community and the largest employer in the area. Beginning as a modest wooden fort, the arsenal grew to...