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 Island Lighthouse and passed suitable acts in the years 1851 and 1852 to build seven lighthouses on the West Coast to guide navigation. The Baltimore firm of Gibbons and Kelly was awarded the contract to build seven lighthouses in California, at Alcatraz Island, Fort Point, Point Pinos, Point Loma, Farallon Island, and Humboldt Bay, and one at Cape Disappointment in Washington State. Equipment were shipped on Oriole, reached San Francisco on January 29, 1853. The Alcatraz Lighthouse was the first to be completed in July 1853, making it the oldest major navigational light on the West Coast. However, the foundation for building