Campbell's Island is an island and unincorporated community in the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. The island is located in Hampton Township,

Rock Island County, Illinois Rock Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois, bounded on the west by the Mississippi River. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 144,672. Its county seat is Rock Island; its largest city is neighborin ...

. 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 Campbell's Island State Memorial is a granite monument that marks the site of a day-long battle on July 19, 1814 during the War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Brit ...

, a listed historic site overseen by the

Illinois Historic Preservation Agency The Illinois Historic Preservation Division, formerly Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Illinois, and is a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. It is tasked with the duty of ...

History

War of 1812

Campbell's Island was the site of the

Battle of Rock Island Rapids The Battle of Rock Island Rapids, also called the Battle of Campbell Island, was an American defeat during the War of 1812 at the hands of the British allied Sauk, Meskwaki, and Kickapoo. In July 1814, a military expedition was mounted to supply ...

, one of the westernmost battles of the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

, when a band of approximately 500 Sauk warriors allied with the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

clashed on July 19, 1814, with an American force led by Lieutenant John Campbell of the 1st U.S. Regiment of Infantry. Campbell was leading three gunboats along the Mississippi River to carry military supplies to Fort Shelby, located at the present site of

Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Prairie du Chien ( ) is a city in Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Often called Wisconsin's second-oldest city, Prairie du Chien was established as a European settlemen ...

."Rock Island (Campbell's Island)", U.S. National Park Service, accessed October 19, 200

/ref> One boat carried 42 people – soldiers of the 1st U.S. Regiment of Infantry and members of their families. The other two boats carried 66 U.S. Rangers. The Native Americans of the United States, British-allied Indians attacked the flotilla in their canoes and forced Campbell to turn back. The American loss was 8 men of the 1st Regiment killed and 16 wounded;4 Rangers killed and 8 wounded. This victory helped to enable the Sauk to maintain their control over the

Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of five cities (originally Tri-Cities, later four, see #History, History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport, Iowa, Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, Bettendorf (the fifth to be included) in southeaster ...

area for almost 20 more years. The Campbell's Island State Memorial, dedicated in 1908, commemorates this battle. However, the movement of Euro-American militiamen and families into northwestern Illinois continued, and in the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans led by Black Hawk (Sauk leader), Black Hawk, a Sauk people, Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of ...

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."Campbell's Island", Illinois State Historical Society (historic marker), accessed October 13, 200

Active Regular Army units with campaign credit for the War of 1812, Five currently active infantry battalions of the Regular Army (1-1 Inf, 2-1 Inf, 1-3 Inf, 2-3 Inf and 4-3 Inf) perpetuate the lineages of elements of the old 1st and 7th Infantry Regiments that were at the Battle of the Rock Island Rapids.

Early 1900s

At the turn of the 20th century, Campbell's Island was bought by a streetcar company who intended to build an amusement park which would have covered the island. In 1904 the first streetcar bridge was constructed atop a closing dam that had been built by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1899.Coopman, David T. Rock Island County. Charleston SC, Chicago IL, Portsmouth NH, San Francisco CA: Arcadia Publishing, 2008. Campbell's Island was a popular resort area in the early to mid 20th century. Cottages were available for rent, and some of the more affluent built their own summer cabins. Extra streetcars were added to the island in the mornings and afternoons to accommodate seasonal residents traveling to and from work in the cities. The House-In-the-Woods, built in 1904, offered dining on the first floor and orchestra concerts in the ballroom on the second floor. It was destroyed by fire in 1911, but rebuilt the following spring and eventually renamed The Campbell's Island Inn. In the late 1950s the inn became the Ship's Wheel Boat Club, encompassing a visitor's dock and marina. After surviving flood damage in 1965, the boat club and marina burned down in 1979.

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

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

ing, 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 Great Flood of 1993 (or Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993) was a flood that occurred in the Midwestern United States, along the Mississippi River, Mississippi and Missouri River, Missouri rivers and their tributaries, from ...

. The bridge to East Moline was built in 1938 and completely rebuilt in 1999."Campbell's Island Bridge", Upper Mississippi River Bridges Project, accessed October 13, 200

/ref> The ''Rock Island Rapids'', a

riffle A riffle is a shallow landform in a flowing channel. Colloquially, it is a shallow place in a river where water flows quickly past rocks. However, in geology a riffle has specific characteristics. Topographic, sedimentary and hydraulic indica ...

in the Upper Mississippi River after which the 1814 battle was named, has disappeared. The riffle was replaced in 1934 by Lock and Dam No. 15, an engineering structure several miles downstream from Campbell's Island.

Demographics

Campbell's Island first appeared as a

census designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in the 2020 U.S. Census.

Education

It is in the East Moline School District 37 and the United Township High School District 30.
Text list
/ref>

References

* * {{authority control River islands of Illinois Islands of the Mississippi River Unincorporated communities in Rock Island County, Illinois Pre-statehood history of Illinois Unincorporated communities in Illinois