Rock Island Confederate Cemetery

Rock Island Confederate Cemetery is a VA national cemetery in Rock Island, Illinois. VA lists it as closed to new burials. Burial is free for eligible veterans, their spouses and dependent children.

Source: National Cemetery Administration (cem.va.gov), retrieved May 2026

History of Rock Island Confederate Cemetery

Rock Island Confederate Cemetery is located just 2,500 yards northwest of Rock Island National Cemetery in Rock Island, Illinois. During the Civil War, the federal government established a prison on Rock Island to ease the crowded conditions at other prisons in the Midwest. The first prisoners, taken at the Battle of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, arrived from Chattanooga in December 1863. In a little over two years more than 12,000 prisoners passed through the gates of the prison. As in many other prisons on both sides of the war, smallpox and other diseases presented a significant problem at Rock Island. Located in a low-lying area, the prison suffered from a lack of drainage, which contributed to the unhealthy living conditions. Over the course of the war, hundreds of Confederates died from disease and exposure.

Two separate cemeteries were developed on the island, one for Confederates and one for Union soldiers who served as prison guards. The latter became Rock Island National Cemetery after the war.

As early as January 1864, rumors began to circulate regarding the conditions at Rock Island. Critics of the camp began to refer to it as the “Andersonville of the North.” When burials in the Confederate cemetery were discontinued on July 11, 1865, interments totaled approximately 1,950. Smallpox and pneumonia accounted for most of the deaths in the prison.

After the war, the federal government transferred all the extant prison structures, including the barracks, hospital, and garrison building, to the Rock Island Arsenal. Subsequently, all of the buildings associated with the prison have been destroyed. Today, Rock Island Confederate Cemetery is the last vestige of the Rock Island Confederate prison.

The Rock Island Arsenal, including Rock Island Confederate Cemetery, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.

Monuments and Memorials A granite obelisk on a block base was dedicated on Nov. 2, 2003, at the entrance to the cemetery by a local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Engraved in the front of the block is “In Memory of the Confederate Veterans Who Died at the Rock Island Prison Camp. May They Never Be Forgotten…”

There are four 12-lb Confederate artillery monuments within Rock Island Confederate Cemetery.

Directions

Cemetery is located on the Rock Island Arsenal.

From Quad-Cities Airport and East: Take Interstate 74 West (see note below). Take the 7th Avenue exit, the last exit in Illinois. Turn left (west) at the bottom of the ramp onto 7th Avenue. Follow 7th Avenue west to 16th Street. Turn right (north) onto 16th and follow it to the ramp for the bridge onto the island. Rock Island National Cemetery is immediately to your left after you pass the island guard posts and the Confederate Cemetery is further ahead on your left.

Flowers and grounds rules

All items placed on gravesites will be removed as soon as they become unsightly or when it becomes necessary to facilitate cemetery operations.

A limit of three (3) floral arrangements may be placed on the grave as the conclusion of the committal service.

Education and visiting programs

More than half of VA's national cemeteries originated with the Civil War and many are closed to some burials. Other sites were established to serve World War veterans and they continue to expand. Historic themes related with NCA's cemeteries and soldiers' lots vary, but visitors should understand "Why is it here?" NCA began by installing interpretive signs, or waysides, at more than 100 properties to observe the Civil War Sesquicentennial (2011–2015). Please follow the links below to see the interpretive signs for Rock Island Confederate Cemetery.

A National Cemetery System Rock Island Confederate Cemetery

Who can be buried at Rock Island Confederate Cemetery?

VA national cemeteries accept a veteran who didn't receive a dishonorable discharge, a service member who died on active duty or in training, the veteran's spouse or surviving spouse (even if they remarried), and minor or, in some cases, unmarried adult dependent children. National Guard and Reserve members qualify under narrower rules. You can ask VA for a pre-need eligibility decision in advance; it does not reserve a gravesite.

What does burial here include at no cost?

• A gravesite in any VA national cemetery with available space
• Opening and closing of the grave
• A government-provided burial liner
• A government-provided headstone or marker
• Perpetual care of the gravesite

Veterans also receive a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate (presented to the next of kin at the burial) and military funeral honors, which include the playing of Taps and two uniformed service members who present the flag. The committal service is held at a committal shelter, not at the grave, and lasts about 20 minutes. National cemeteries have no viewing facilities, so the funeral itself is held elsewhere.

How do you schedule a burial at Rock Island Confederate Cemetery?

1. Gather the veteran's DD214 or other discharge papers, and the deceased's details (Social Security number, dates of birth and death, relationship to the veteran).
2. Fax the discharge papers to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 866-900-6417, or email them to [email protected] with the deceased's name in the subject line.
3. You or the funeral director call 800-535-1117 (Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET) to request Rock Island Confederate Cemetery and a date. National cemeteries hold burials Monday through Friday.

VA lists Rock Island Confederate Cemetery as closed. Ask the scheduling office what, if anything, can still be arranged here, and about open national cemeteries nearby.

Where is the Rock Island Confederate Cemetery burial schedule?

VA posts a daily burial schedule for every national cemetery. Search it for Rock Island Confederate Cemetery to see the committal services planned there. It only lists burials whose families agreed to publish them. To change or cancel a burial that's already scheduled, contact Rock Island Confederate Cemetery directly at 309-784-0000.

Headstone, flag and burial allowance

• Government headstone or marker: tell the scheduling office which headstone, marker, niche cover or medallion you want when you schedule the burial.
• Burial flag: VA Form 27-2008.
• Burial allowance: For a non-service-connected death on or after October 1, 2026, VA pays up to $1,032 toward burial and funeral costs and $1,032 for a plot; for a service-connected death on or after September 11, 2001, the burial allowance is up to $2,000. Claim it with VA Form 21P-530EZ. All benefits

After the funeral: survivor benefits and the estate

A surviving spouse, child or parent may qualify for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), a tax-free monthly VA benefit, for example when the death was service connected (VA Form 21P-534EZ). The veteran's estate is settled under Illinois law; our sister site ProbateUS explains how probate works in Illinois and lists each county's probate court. For the rest of the paperwork, from Social Security to bank accounts, DeathUS has a step-by-step checklist of what to do when someone dies.

Nearest cemeteries

The three veterans cemeteries closest to Rock Island Confederate Cemetery, by straight-line distance:

• Rock Island National Cemetery, Rock Island, IL: 1 mi, open for burials
• Oakdale Cemetery Soldiers' Lot, Davenport, IA: 2 mi, closed to new in-ground burials
• Keokuk National Cemetery Annex, Keokuk, IA: 89 mi, open for burials