Did you know that Alcatraz was a military instillation before it was a prison? Union troops had 300 soldiers and 100 canons on the island pointed at the mouth of the San Francisco Bay. Since the war never made it to San Francisco, I imagine it was a boring job! After the prison closed, the island was taken over by Indians (as in Native Americans) in the 60's as a protest of the land that was being taken away from the Indians. They occupied the island for 20 months before the National Guard stormed in and kicked them off. There were results though because much of the land was given back to the Indian nations. We really enjoyed our day at Alcatraz and walking around San Francisco.
