Battery Rock
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Battery Rock
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Battery Rock from its base
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| Location | West Bank, River Mile 860, Ohio River |
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| Nearest city | Cave-in-Rock, Illinois |
| Coordinates | 37°31′48″N 88°4′49″W / 37.53000°N 88.08028°WCoordinates: 37°31′48″N 88°4′49″W / 37.53000°N 88.08028°W |
| Area | 33.5 acres (13.6 ha) |
| MPS | Caught in the Middle: The Civil War on the Lower Ohio River MPS |
| NRHP reference # | 98001257 |
| Added to NRHP | November 5, 1998 |
Battery Rock is a limestone bluff located at Mile 860 of the Ohio River in Hardin County, Illinois, across from Caseyville, Kentucky. The bluff is a prominent navigational landmark along the river.
The site played a role in several conflicts during the Civil War. In 1862, the Union Army based its troops at Battery Rock during a standoff with Confederate troops at Caseyville; the standoff ended when the Union troops moved to Caseyville, found that the Confederates had left the town, and punished the rebellious residents. The bluff also played a role in Confederate general Stovepipe Johnson's attack on riverboats in 1864. During the attack, boats used the landing at Battery Rock as a safe harbor and a place to monitor the situation. In addition, two Union recruiters from Kentucky used the bluff as a recruiting station in 1864, and either a Union garrison or a local defense force placed two cannons at the site; graffiti left by an Indiana regiment has also been found at the site.
The bluff was used as a filming location for the film How the West Was Won in the 1960s.
Battery Rock was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 5, 1998.
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Wikipedia