Lot
4443 
1870 (Feb. 13) New Salem, Oh. to Alcatraz Island, Cal., cover bearing 3¢ ultramarine (114) tied by grid cancel, partial strike of matching "New Salem O." cds with ms. "13" dating, military address to "Lieut. D. A. Lyle, 2nd U.S. Artillery, Alcatraz Island, California", purple "10 Fevr 1870" docketing at left, F.-V.F., a rare destination. Scott No. 114. Estimate $100 - 150.
In 1853, under the direction of Zealous B. Tower, the United States Army Corps of Engineers began fortifying the island, work which continued until 1858, culminating in Fortress Alcatraz. In 1867 after the Civil War, a brick jailhouse was built (previously inmates had been kept in the basement of the guardhouse), and in 1868, Alcatraz was officially designated a long-term detention facility for military prisoners. Among those incarcerated at Alcatraz were confederates caught on the west coast, and some Hopi Native American men in the 1870s.
Realized: $70