The History of the United States Disciplinary Barracks: Part Two

The USMP was only in the Department of Justice for eleven years. Almost from the day that it took control of the facility the Department of Justice complained that the buildings and grounds were inadequate. Just one year after being run as a penitentiary the president signed a bill setting aside seven hundred acres of land on the south side of Ft Leavenworth for the building of a new penitentiary. As was the case with the existing prison the labor force was made up of the population. Additionally the rock quarries of Ft Leavenworth were once again used as a source of construction material.

On February 1 1906 the USMP was once again under the control of the military. The reactivation of the prison made it possible to relieve the overcrowded guardhouses and stockades and once again return to the system which was abandoned at the time the prison was transferred from the War Department. One more change that had to be made as a result of the transfer back into the hands of the military was that the USMP became overcrowded itself. In an attempt to solve this problem the first branch to the military prison was activated on March 21 1907. The location, Alcatraz Island. It was officially designated “The Pacific Branch of The United States Military Prison.” This expansion, however, did not help much. Due to the limited size of the island only commanders in the Departments of California and Columbia were authorized to send general prisoners to there. The Adjutant General ordered that all the buildings belonging to the USMP on Ft Leavenworth be inspected and plans be drawn up for a new prison. In 1908 Congress approved the contraction of a new prison.

It is at this time that the image of the prison that people know today took shape. The plans called for a radial layout. There was to be a center rotunda with the cell blocks and other administrative offices protruding out on all sides. This plan created what was eventually to be called “The Castle.” IT was found that utilizing prisoner labor provided a maximum amount of employment for the prisoners and permitted them to learn useful occupations and trades which they could follow upon release. In addition to the construction work on the new prison, the men were employed in the rock quarries, brick plant, saw mills, lime kiln, and on the prison farm colony. This diversity in available work details made it possible for the War Department to save an estimated $471,256 in labor costs. That is a significant thing considering Congress stipulated that the cost of the new prison should not exceed $583,000 including construction costs.

In 1915 the designation United States Military Prison was changed to United States Disciplinary barracks. The reason for the change is not known but it was the last one to this date. As the US entered World War I in 1917 the US Army jumped from under 30,000 men to more than four million under arms in less than two years. As is the case with a population boom such as this disciplinary problems ballooned as well. However, the Army was in the best possible position of its history to cope with this. With the operation of a branch to the USMP on both coasts, “The Atlantic Branch of the United States Disciplinary Barracks” was opened at Ft Jay NY in 1915, and the parent USDB nearing completion housing prisoners was not a major concern. On June 30 1918 the “Castle” was 99% complete with minor work remaining on Wings 2 and 8. From this time up until 1929 the USDB experienced the usual growth associated with running a prison system. More services were made available to the prisoner population. Things such as a recreation program that supplied sporting equipment, a movie theater, an expanded library and more educational programs helped in increasing the morale and thereby reducing the threat of a disturbance.

In the summer of 1929 the Federal Government began cracking down on racketeers and other federal law violators. This caused an overflow at most of the Federal Institutions. The proximity of the USDB to the Leavenworth Penitentiary led to the Department of Justice requesting the use of the USDB as a penitentiary annex. This action was granted and on 14 September 1929 the USMP for the second time was no longer under military control. The Atlantic Branch functioned as the main confinement installation of the Army for the eleven years which the parent USDB operated as an annex. It was also during this time the Pacific Branch at Alcatraz Island was transferred (1933) to the Department of Justice. After only eleven years of operation as an annex the USDB was once again turned back over to the military. Proceeding as directed, the command, comprising of three officers, 117 enlisted men and 171 prisoners embarked by rail on arrived at Ft Leavenworth on November 8 1940. November 6 1940 marked the closing of the Atlantic Branch. From 1940 until today the USDB has been operated solely by the military. Once again the changes that the USDB faced were commiserate with the time that passed. Advances in penology and in the military further shaped life and work in the “Castle.” The next truly significant change came in 2002 with the opening of the new USDB. Also located on Ft Leavenworth this million dollar facility is state of the art. While many attempts were made to preserve the “Castle” of the old USDB it was sadly demolished in 2004.

Visitors to Ft Leavenworth can still see the original stone wall and guard towers as well as most of the original buildings in the old USDB compound. For soldiers that had the honor of serving in the old USDB an original brick stamped with “USMP” is available at the sales store.

The United States Disciplinary Barracks holds the distinction of being the only maximum security prison in the Department of Defense. And as such houses all military inmates sentenced to death. There are currently five former soldiers and one former airman on death row. A total of twenty nine men have been executed by the US Military. Of those twenty nine twelve were German POWs. The last execution to be carried out was in 1961. PFC John A. Bennett was hung on April 13, 1961, for the rape and attempted murder of an 11-year-old Austrian girl. This was also the last execution in the old USDB.

While prisons and their populations are not the most desire bale topics of conversation a lot can be learned from them. They also play an important role in telling the history of any society. The move from the barbaric conditions in which the first military prisoners were housed into what is today an efficient means of confinement and rehabilitation will tell future generations volumes about our character and values.