Alcatraz Island the hands of Confederate sympathizers. Alcatraz, built as a "heavily fortified military site on the West Coast", formed a "triangle of defense" along with Fort Point and Lime Point, and ensured security to the bay. The island was also the site of the first operational lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States. Alcatraz never fired its guns offensively, though during the war it was used to imprison Confederate sympathizers and privateers on the west coast. Because of its isolation from the outside by the cold, strong, hazardous currents of the waters of San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz was used
June 1962 Alcatraz escape attempt Island served as a prison. The film "Escape from Alcatraz" (1979) stars Clint Eastwood, Fred Ward, and Jack Thibeau as Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin, respectively. West (fictionalized as a character named Charley Butts) was played by Larry Hankin. The escape was shown in a two-part 1980 TV movie made by Telepictures Corporation (now owned by Warner Bros.): "", which starred Ed Lauter as Morris, and Louis Giambalvo and Antony Ponzini as the Anglins. "Terror on Alcatraz" (1987) starring Aldo Ray as Morris, returning decades later to the scene of his escape from Alcatraz, scours his old prison cell