{"nrhp_refnum":"98001257","name":"Battery Rock","other_names":["Battery Rock Landing"],"category":"site","location":{"address":"West Bank, River Mile 860, Ohio R.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cave-in-Rock","county":"Hardin County","state":"IL","lat":37.52980945400006,"lon":-88.0813643821729,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-11-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 33.5-acre site on the Ohio River at river mile 860 in eastern Hardin County, Illinois, near Cave-in-Rock, centered on a limestone bluff called Battery Rock and the adjoining Battery Rock Landing, opposite Caseyville, Kentucky.","why_significant":"The site was used by Federal forces on several occasions during the Civil War to counter a Confederate presence at Caseyville across the river. It was the scene of a standoff in October 1862 and served as a southern observation point and refuge for steamboats during Confederate Col. Adam Johnson's August 1864 attacks on Ohio River shipping. It retains integrity of setting, location, feeling and association.","narrative":"Battery Rock is a limestone bluff rising about 80 feet above the Ohio River in eastern Hardin County, Illinois, with a small landing area at its southern end. Long a navigational landmark, it took on military importance during the Civil War because it faced Caseyville, Kentucky, a base for Confederate activity. In October 1862 a steamer carrying 200 Federal troops unloaded at the landing after being challenged at Caseyville, and the two forces confronted each other across the river until Federal reinforcements surrounded the town. Gunboats later punished local residents. In August 1864, Confederate Col. Adam Johnson blockaded and raided river shipping, and Battery Rock served as the southern observation point where threatened steamboats gathered reports. Civil War-era graffiti survives beneath the bluff overhang, including a carved name with a flag and the word Indiana. The site was listed for its association with these military events and for retaining its setting and feeling.","period_of_significance":"1862-1864","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A"],"status_note":"Federally owned by the Shawnee National Forest; the landscape retains its natural setting, with a Forest Service trail, a mid-19th-century chimney of unknown origin and a concrete postal transfer station foundation.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:37.546868-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/56/8911/28891156/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/98001257.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98001257/766930b3b7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98001257/766930b3b7-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Battery_Rock_from_Caseyville.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Battery_Rock_from_Caseyville.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28891156","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_Rock","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16838984"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/hardin-county/battery-rock-98001257/"}