Alcatraz Citadel Bay and California State could be taken under its fold was thwarted. Alcatraz was officially designated as a military prison on August 27, 1861. In March 1863, when there was a threat that the San Francisco Bay would be captured by the Confederates, the schooner, which was to carry out the operation set sail; the U.S. Navy prevented the schooner from moving out and captured the crew along with ammunition and 15 confederates who were hiding in the galleys of the ship. Consequent to this, the importance of Alcatraz increased, more and more confederates and civilians were arrested for reasons
Alcatraz Gang strangers in our own country, and we didn't like a lot of what we saw". Many still have throbbing in joints from the rope torture and Coker's wife says, "In his sleep, he holds up 'the wall'". Coker also said, "If you're never tested, you don't know (what you can do)". Three of the ten out of eleven surviving "Alcatraz Gang" POWs including Stockdale (he was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1976), had died by November 2008. Denton died in 2014. The others keep in close touch. Alcatraz Gang The Alcatraz Gang was a group of eleven American prisoners