Alcatraz Island

Alcatraz Island is located in the San Francisco Bay, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. Often referred to as "The Rock," the small island was developed with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison (1868), and a federal prison from 1933 until 1963.  Beginning in November 1969, the island was occupied for more than 19 months by a group of American Indians from San Francisco who were part of a wave of Indian activism across the nation with public protests through the 1970s. In 1972 Alcatraz became a national recreation area and received designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

Alcatraz Island in Southern Victory
Alcatraz Island was home to a large fort that protected San Francisco from naval attack. Their guns were considered formidable. After the Royal Navy started shelling cities on the Great Lakes, Clay Herndon of the Morning Call managed to get an interview with the commander of the garrison, and was impressed by the defensive works.

However, when the Royal Navy did attack, they sat off the coast out of gun range and pounded the fort to ruin.