Letters From Alcatraz - Michael Esslinger [21]
The ship seemed to return fire, but it was ultimately determined to be firing a salute. Alcatraz then responded with a twenty-one-gun salute, and it is documented that Fort Point commenced firing to join the salute. The approaching vessel was identified as Her Majesty’s ship the HMS Sutlej, the flagship of Rear Admiral John Kingdome (The Sutlej was a Constance-class 50-gun fourth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy). The Admiral was not impressed with the welcoming. Several months later, correspondence was still being exchanged and the military was accused of a careless action.
Though in its entire history as a military installation, the fortress had fired only one 400-pound cannon round (and missed), nevertheless the island lived up to its self-proclaimed status as an icon of U.S. military power. But within a few decades the island's role as a military fortress would start to fade and its defenses would become obsolete by the standards of more modern weaponry.
Military soldiers in formation at the dock in 1902. The brick bombproof barracks are visible in the background. The predicted attacks by the Confederacy during the Civil War never materialized, and the original casements, which accommodated two tiers of mounted cannons, were eventually fully converted into permanent barracks. The wooden structure on top was added only as temporary quarters for enlisted soldiers.
A contemporary view of the corridor located behind the bombproof barracks, known as “China Alley.”
Another view of the temporary wooden structure set atop the unfinished bombproof barracks in 1893. Note the neatly trimmed decorative planters set in front of the First Sergeant’s dwelling and the other cottage, which served as a barbershop.
A photograph from 1893, showing the interior of the temporary wooden barracks. Visible are the gun racks and the neatly made bunks on both the upper and lower levels. The barracks were always immaculate and kept in perfect order.
The Casting of a New Prison Concept
The punishment of criminals has existed as a social force throughout the history of mankind, and the earliest records offer horrific tales of rat-infested dungeons and the use of barbaric torture devices. Before offenders were sentenced to serve time in confinement, they were publicly tormented both physically and mentally. One of the most common means of punishment in past centuries was to lock the convicted criminal into a pillory device for public display. Use of the pillory can be traced back to a remote period in English history, as early as the twelfth century. Throughout the history of this device, the prominent display of a pillory represented a firm presence of law and order within a community, and emerged as a popular mode of punishment even in more modern society. There were several other forms of discipline that were equally barbaric, such as public lashings and mutilation, as well as a variety of other means of degradation. Public executions were also frequent; hanging and fatal stoning were other common forms of punishment for sadistic crimes.
A broken device which resembled a pillory was found in a storage area on Alcatraz during the institution’s transfer to the Bureau of Prisons in 1934. Although its use was never validated or proven it was an actual pillory, it did suggest that t method of punishment was used during the island’s early history as a military prison.
Prisons have been documented to exist for several centuries, but until the 1700’s they were grim places that served only for transitory confinement while prisoners were awaiting trial or punishment. The conditions in these jails were horrendous, with open sewers and diseased rodents that scurried across dirt floors on which the men were forced to sleep without bedding. But after the American Revolution, the newly formed United States sought to