Free Download George Eaton, "Rock Island Arsenal" English | ISBN: 1531670156 | 2014 | 130 pages | EPUB | 29 MB 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.