en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcatraz_Island
3 corrections found
The facility was later discontinued for Prisoners of War in 1846.
The year 1846 is impossible here. Alcatraz was not even being used as a prison until 1859, and official National Park Service timelines show its military-prison use continuing into the 20th century.
Full reasoning
This sentence gives a date that predates Alcatraz's prison use entirely.
According to the National Park Service, "Alcatraz Island's use as a prison began in December 1859" and in 1861 it was designated the military prison for the Department of the Pacific. A separate NPS timeline also shows Alcatraz remaining a military prison through 1907 and 1915, before being transferred to the Federal Bureau of Prisons in 1933.
Because 1846 is 13 years before Alcatraz began being used as a prison at all, the statement that the facility was "discontinued for Prisoners of War in 1846" cannot be correct.
2 sources
- Fortress Alcatraz - Alcatraz Island (U.S. National Park Service)
"Alcatraz Island's use as a prison began in December 1859" ... "in 1861 the post was designated as the military prison for the Department of the Pacific."
- Alcatraz Military Timeline - Alcatraz Island (U.S. National Park Service)
The NPS timeline lists 1859 as the arrival of the first permanent garrison, 1907 as Alcatraz's designation as the "Pacific Branch, U.S. Military Prison," 1915 as its renaming to the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks, and 1933 as its transfer to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The island's first garrison, numbering about 200 soldiers, arrived at the end of that year.
National Park Service histories give a different first garrison: Captain Joseph Stewart and 86 men took command in 1859, not about 200 soldiers at the end of 1858.
Full reasoning
Official National Park Service histories do not support this statement.
The NPS military timeline lists 1859—not 1858—as the year the first garrison arrived, stating that "Capt. Joseph Stewart and 86 men of Company H, Third U.S. Artillery take command of Alcatraz." Another NPS history page likewise says, "By December 1859, the fort was ready. Captain Joseph Stewart and 86 men of Company H, Third U.S. Artillery took command of Alcatraz Island."
That directly contradicts the article's claim that the first garrison was about 200 soldiers arriving at the end of 1858.
2 sources
- Alcatraz Military Timeline - Alcatraz Island (U.S. National Park Service)
Under 1859, the timeline states: "Capt. Joseph Stewart and 86 men of Company H, Third U.S. Artillery take command of Alcatraz."
- The Post on Alcatraces - Alcatraz Island (U.S. National Park Service)
"By December 1859, the fort was ready. Captain Joseph Stewart and 86 men of Company H, Third U.S. Artillery took command of Alcatraz Island."
The Spanish built several small buildings on the island and other minor structures.
National Park Service histories describe pre-1853 Alcatraz as an undeveloped rock and date construction on the island to the U.S. fortifications that began in 1853, not to Spanish-built island structures.
Full reasoning
Official National Park Service histories contradict this statement.
One NPS history says that for thousands of years before the Civil War, Alcatraz was "a rugged rock inhabited by sea birds" and that construction began in 1853 when Fortress Alcatraz was built. Another NPS page says that before the Army claimed Alcatraz in 1853, the island was "just that – a gently sloped, graywacke sandstone island covered with scrub brush and guano."
Those descriptions are inconsistent with the article's claim that the Spanish built several small buildings on the island. The official NPS histories instead place the island's built development with U.S. military construction beginning in 1853.
2 sources
- The Post on Alcatraces - Alcatraz Island (U.S. National Park Service)
"For thousands of years before the Civil War, Alcatraz was a rugged rock inhabited by sea birds" and "In 1853, construction began on Fortress Alcatraz."
- Now And Then: Alcatraz Island - Golden Gate National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service)
The NPS says that before the Army claimed Alcatraz in 1853, the "Rock" was "just that – a gently sloped, graywacke sandstone island covered with scrub brush and guano."