The original elevation and section plans for the Citadel. This building was designed as a self-sustaining defensive barrack of four-foot-thick brick construction, with multiple rifle slits in each wall to allow soldiers to fire upon enemy landing parties. There were no cannons or heavy armory mounted inside the building. The fortress was to be defended by infantry soldiers with musket rifles, and was accessed by crossing a small drawbridge over a dry moat. The original plans included iron shutters, and large water cisterns to help sustain soldiers for long periods of siege.

The Citadel in 1893 following the Civil War. With no threat of impending attack, the building was converted into apartments for married officers. Cannonballs lined the perimeter as decorative border pieces, and the lawn area where a tennis court can be seen here was once the storage area for ordinance.

General Edwin Sumner

A 1902 photograph showing the pathway leading up to “Officers’ Row.”  Note the brick Citadel building in the upper right corner.

The pathway known as “Officers’ Row” as it appeared in 1883. These Victorian-style homes were built in 1880-81, and were reserved for the post’s ranking officers. This photograph was taken from the Citadel grounds, with the descending stairway in the right foreground. Cannonballs are clearly visible as decorative borders along the path.

An engraving from 1883, depicting the original fortification buildings.

The “Great Sham Battle” of July 3, 1876 was meant to celebrate America’s centennial and to provide the citizens of San Francisco with a grandiose display of military prowess. With one stationary and one floating target (an old Navy schooner), the Bay of San Francisco resonated with the massive barrage of firing weaponry. But despite the awesome power of the 15-inch Rodman Cannons firing in sequence from Alcatraz, the idly floating target (carrying tons of explosives and with its hull soaked in coal oil) effortlessly evaded the bombardment. To avoid further embarrassment, a young soldier finally was launched under cover of the billowing smoke to set fire to the vessel.

The caption from the original print reads: “Smoothbore, buried muzzle-first serves as a traffic bumper on the uphill turn.”  Comparison of the 1902 image to the modern-day photo taken nearly one hundred years later illustrates the changes in architecture and landscape. In the earlier photograph, note the hospital and lower prison on the downhill roadway. Visible in the modern-day photo is the 250,000-gallon water tower built in 1939 and the Spanish-Mission-style chapel, which was later converted into bachelor quarters for Federal prison officers.

April 12, 1861 marked the official start of the American Civil War between the Northern and Southern States. On April 25 ^th, General Edwin Sumner assumed command of Alcatraz and prepared for war against the Confederate forces. However, many military advisors remained concerned that the Civil War might create vulnerabilities to watchful foreign powers. Sumner therefore issued orders to fire upon any vessel that flew the Confederate flag or advanced aggressively. Sumner proposed to station 400 men at Alcatraz and to provide ample provisions of food and water to sustain the fort for at least six months. However, the fort would only briefly house a staff of this size in 1862.

On October 1, 1863, a suspicious vessel entered the San Francisco Harbor and approached the Raccoon Straights. Typically a revenue service cutter would greet all vessels entering the Golden Gate, but on this fateful day, the cutter had been assigned to assist a Russian vessel that had run aground. The Commanding Officer at Alcatraz, William A. Winder, had been instructed to confront any vessel that was not registered for entry. His officer reported the sighting of a heavily armed ship being towed by several pilot boats. There was no wind and the ship’s flag was folded vertically with her colors indiscernible. Winder later reported:

I deemed it my duty to bring to her and ascertain her reason of admittance to the harbor. I therefore fired a blank charge, which apparently not attracting her attention. I directed a gun to be loaded with an empty shell and to be fired 200 or 300 yards ahead of her.

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.