Alcatraz Island Engineers began fortifying the island, work which continued until 1858, eventuating in Fortress Alcatraz. The island's first garrison at Camp Alcatraz, numbering about 200 soldiers and 11 cannons, arrived at the end of that year. When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, the island mounted 85 cannons (increased to 105 cannons by 1866) in casemates around its perimeter, though the small size of the garrison meant only a fraction of the guns could be used at one time. At this time it also served as the San Francisco Arsenal for storage of firearms to prevent them falling into
Alcatraz coup Alcatraz coup The Alcatraz coup is an illegal method of learning about the opponents' cards in contract bridge. It is not a true coup. The word is being used facetiously based on the name of the former Alcatraz penitentiary. The "coup" consists of a deliberate revoke by declarer, causing the next player to reveal whether he holds the key card whose location is sought. The declarer then corrects the revoke (which is allowed without penalty if done soon enough) and the defender may change his play, but declarer now knows about the key card and can choose how to finesse