California, 17th November, Alcatraz captured
A lady ranger (Alcatraz is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area) was waiting on the dock for us to arrive. When we had all gathered round she explained a little of the history of Alcatraz and told us to walk up the hill to the cellhouse where we would receive our tour audio packs and headphones. The building behind her is the barracks of the old fort. Alcatraz was used as a defense for San Francisco, a fort being built here in 1850 when the city had reached a population of 20,000. During the civil war the city was a Union stronghold and a prime target for Confederate raiders. The use of Alcatraz as a prison dates back to this time, when soldiers convicted of crimes like desertion, assault and worse were kept here along with captured native Indians and convicts from the Spanish American War of 1898. We walked up the hill passing part of the understorey of the old fort and the obligatory stars and stripes (always looks good against a blue sky). ...