Alcatraz Wharf Alcatraz in the 1850s to permit the landing of men and building materials to construct a fort, completed in 1859. In 1867, the "General McPherson" was built to serve the island and other military institutions in the San Francisco Bay Area, as Alcatraz became a long-term military prison from 1868. The steamer towed officers, prisoners and food and water supplies to island between 1867 and 1886, landing at the dock twice daily before being replaced. During the time as a federal penitentiary, a prisoner once attempted to escape on a boat from the boat by dressing as an officer. The
Alcatraz Gang Alcatraz Gang The Alcatraz Gang was a group of eleven American prisoners of war (POW) held separately in Hanoi, North Vietnam during the Vietnam War because of their particular resistance to their North-Vietnamese military captors. These eleven POWs were: George Thomas Coker, USN; Jeremiah Denton, USN; Harry Jenkins, USN; Sam Johnson, USAF; George McKnight, USAF; James Mulligan, USN; Howard Rutledge, USN; Robert Shumaker, USN; James Stockdale, USN; Ronald Storz, USAF; and Nels Tanner, USN. These prisoners were held in solitary confinement from 25 October 1967 to 9 December 1969 at a special facility (dubbed "Alcatraz" by Commander Stockdale) in a