Battle of Alcatraz Battle of Alcatraz The Battle of Alcatraz, which lasted from May 2 to 4, 1946, was the result of an unsuccessful escape attempt at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. Two corrections officers—William A. Miller and Harold Stites—were killed along with three of the inmates. Eleven corrections officers and one uninvolved convict were also injured. Two of the surviving convicts were later executed for their roles. Alcatraz was a maximum high-security federal prison located on Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco bay. It operated from 1934 to 1963, and had a reputation for being impossible to escape from. As a result, it housed
Alcatraz Island in popular culture Alcatraz Island in popular culture Alcatraz Island has appeared many times in popular culture. Its appeal as a picturesque film setting derives from its natural beauty, isolation and its history as a prison (now a museum) from which, officially, no prisoner ever successfully escaped. Most appearances of Alcatraz island in popular culture are related to its former status as a federal prison. Both real life and fictional accounts of imprisonment on the island have been popular. One of the best-known of Alcatraz's historic inmates was Robert Franklin Stroud, known as "The Birdman of Alcatraz". His biography was written by Thomas