Camp McClellan (Iowa)

Camp McClellan
Marker in Lindsay Park
Location	Davenport, Iowa
Coordinates	41°31′55″N 90°32′14″W / 41.53194°N 90.53722°W / 41.53194; -90.53722Coordinates: 41°31′55″N 90°32′14″W / 41.53194°N 90.53722°W / 41.53194; -90.53722
Built	1861
Governing body	Private
Location of Camp McClellan in Iowa

Camp McClellan is a former Union Army camp in the U.S. state of Iowa that was established in Davenport in August 1861 after the outbreak of the American Civil War. The camp was the training grounds for recruits and a hospital for the wounded. In 1863 it became a prison camp called Camp Kearney for members of the Sioux, or Dakota, tribe that were involved in raids in Minnesota. The camp was decommissioned after the release of the prisoners in 1866.

The land the camp was built on belonged to Thomas Russel Allen of St. Louis, Missouri and consisted of over 300 acres (120 ha). The property was directly across the Mississippi River from the Rock Island Arsenal, that was also the site of a prisoner of war camp that held Confederate soldiers. Iowa's Adjutant General Nathaniel B. Baker moved his offices to Davenport and established Camp McClellan as a training camp for the volunteer soldiers. Lieutenant Colonel William Hall was responsible for organizing and running the camp. The camp was named in honor of General George B. McClellan.

It was the largest of the five camps that were in and around the city of Davenport. 40,000 of the nearly 80,000 Iowa troops that fought the war passed through its gates. They were also treated in the camp's hospital and mustered out from the camp when the war was over. J. W. Willard was given the contract to construct the necessary buildings and a local company, French & Davis, provided the lumber. They built a dozen frame buildings with 52 double berths for bunks, a mess hall, a commissary, a canteen, a granary and officers quarters. There were enough stalls for over 100 horses. More barracks were completed as quickly as possible because of the large number of recruits that were coming into the camp. A thousand recruits would have been at Camp McClellan at one time after it first opened. Because of the haste, the quarters were poorly constructed and started to leak. Lieutenant Colonel Hall was put in charge to bring the camp up to military standards, maximize security and training efficiency. Colonel Hare of Muscatine, Iowa took over for Hall on October 11, 1861.