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The Battle of Alcatraz, which lasted from May 2 to 4, 1946, was the result of an escape attempt at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary by armed convicts. Two Federal Bureau of Prisons officers—William A. Miller and Harold Stites—were killed (Miller by inmate Joseph Cretzer who attempted escape and Stites by friendly fire).
May 16, 2022 · Two platoons of veteran Marines, who had experience fighting in the Pacific Theater of World War II, were shipped in to help the guards retake the prison from the convicts.
Before being escorted to Alcatraz, they were handcuffed in high-security coaches and guarded by some 60 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) special agents, U.S. Marshals, and railway security officials. Most of the prisoners were notorious bank robbers, counterfeiters, or murderers.
Feb 1, 2024 · In the 1860s, during the Civil War, Alcatraz served as a military prison for Confederate sympathizers and others. Over the following decades, its role expanded to house military prisoners from various campaigns and conflicts, including the Spanish-American War and World War I.
From May 2 to May 4, 1946, however, a half-dozen inmates participated in an escape attempt that was unprecedented in its violence. Later dubbed the “ Battle of Alcatraz,” the 48-hour incident began when prisoners overpowered their guards and obtained firearms and keys to the cell block.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
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Oct 27, 2009 · The federal prison on Alcatraz Island in the chilly waters of California’s San Francisco Bay housed some of America’s most difficult and dangerous felons during its years of operation from 1934...
Dec 16, 2021 · On 2 May 1946, several prisoners held at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary enacted a plan to escape the island prison. The ensuing 48-hour siege was the most violent in the prison's history, resulting in five deaths and more than a dozen injured. Emma Slattery Williams takes up the tale of the incident later dubbed the 'battle of Alcatraz'...
