by CD Gozzi

Created on: November 23, 2008

Alcatraz
Island, "the Rock" has quite a colorful history. Originally discovered in 1775 by Spanish naval officer, Juan Manuel de Ayala, he gave the island the name of "La Isla de los Alcatraces" which roughly translates as "Island
of the Pelicans."

This island had little to offer as far as being inhabitable. It was predominately rocky, barren of vegetation and surrounded by the rushing frigid currents of the Bay waters. In 1847, the United States military took over the Rock. It was their belief that it was extremely valuable to them as a strategic location to safeguard the San Francisco Bay.

In 1853, the Army Corps of Engineers began building the military bastion and the West Coast's first lighthouse. This fortress was outfit with four 15-inch Rodman guns capable of sinking large ships up to three miles away. The discovery of gold along the American River
five years earlier brought about an onslaught of miners looking to make their fortunes. The military wanted to protect this newfound treasure from any countries wanting to take it away.

The Rock as a fortress had little action but by 1861 transitioned into a model location for a prison. The Civil War and Spanish-American war military prisoners were the first to call this location home. Then after the disastrous 1906 earthquake in San Francisco, hundreds of civilian prisoners were brought to the Rock as a perfect confinement locale while the mainland prisons were rebuilt.

New buildings were constructed on the Island in 1909 and helped deem this prison "the United States disciplinary Barracks." The prisoners were housed based on their classification, level of responsibility and punishment. Third class prisoners were not allowed to have any books, magazines, or newspapers from the library nor could they receive any mail or visits from family members. They were also no allowed to speak and any infraction resulted in severe punishment.

The average military prisoner was twenty-four years of age and was serving a sentence for desertion or less severe crimes and stayed for a relatively short period of time. Contrary to common belief, this was considered a minimum security prison even though the Army enforced strict rules. Inmates with longer sentences were those convicted of larceny, murder and assault. The minimum security status was attractive to those inmates looking to escape. Those who made the attempt were usually not successful and either had to be rescued or succumbed to the frigid Pacific waters.

An interesting aside

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