Alcatraz Citadel having some 111 cannons encircling the island at peak, and was also used as a war camp. During the Civil War, the defense establishment at Alcatraz Citadel had the onerous task to defuse the possibility of any local war between the Union and Confederate supporters who were both part of the population of California, and to protect San Francisco. Ammunition in the form of 10,000 muskets and 150,000 cartridges was supplied to the fort, which made the Fort Alcatraz and the island most impregnable and thus leaving any plans of the Confederate soldiers of taking control of the San Francisco
Alcatraz Island banks of sweet peas, manicured gardens of cutting flowers, and wildly overgrown sections of native grasses with blackberry and honeysuckle. Alcatraz Island appears often in media and popular culture, including films dating from 1962: "The Book of Eli" (2010), "" (2006), "Catch Me If You Can" (2002), "The Rock" (1996), "Murder in the First" (1995), "Escape from Alcatraz" (1979), "The Enforcer" (1976), "Point Blank" (1967) ", Birdman of Alcatraz" (1962) and J. J. Abrams' 2012 television series "Alcatraz". It also was featured in the "Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters" anime, in the book "Al Capone Does My Shirts", in the video game