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4B—Portsmouth Herold (N.H.) Thurs., June M, 1970FreiviewtiletimeMenglopp)rea*dan'fronwasnvc the 24 1 not to : 4 o1 forACCS:Nattoa aThehassevtllGA at f hrhaiblaThii Forbidding Pile of Rolt;k Is in the Navy os The Castle1ch?higha:statatThe Castle'noratVrlofDisciplinary Command Busy PlaceF(By JOHN KELSO That Uic U.S. Navy’s main prison on Seavey’a Island does not look the same today as it did when it was first used to detain errant seamen 38 years ago is not surprising.Today the prison, or U.S.Naval Disciplinary Command, Castle” or “Rock” is a com-Blex of more than 30 structures.e largest may be the highest building on the seacoast, silling eight stories up.Since it was commissioned in 1903, the prison has detained some 27,105 U.S. Navy personnel. The prisoners have been convicted of all sorts of violations. Some would not bo held criminal in Chilian courts. Others would be viewed as heinous in any court.Hid Disciplinary Command onScavcy’s Island, part of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard,serves as the Navy’s main pri-center for Navy personnel convicted in court martial procced-victcd in court martial proceedings. (The Army’s counterpart is located at Ft. Leavenworth, Kans.)The prison site with Its array o{ buildings scattered around the ominous “castle” today appears, impressive, overbearing. When it sprang up 38 years ago, the prison had its problems, and was not the structural monster that it seems to ho today.Const ruction of the main building of today's prison complex — the “castle” —began during 1903. The prison complex was commissioned five years later as the U.S. Naval Prison and Col. Allen C. Kellon of the U.S. Marine Corps took over as its first commanding officer. He had his hands full.Tan I amount among Ins difficulties were lack of provisions for a garrison of 42 Marines stationed at the prison as guards. On top of this, the prison staff had been counting on having available 320 cells to bold prisoners. Only 160 were avail* able, however.The -Marine guards' were housed on the prison’s third floor, and the prison commander urged in his first report that a barracks for the guards be built.Through the years the prisontobehas served several purposes. In 1898, before the Navy prison existed as such, its present site was the location of a lent colony that served as a detention camp for 1,612 Spanish-American War prisoners.Along with structural changesIffIhJ*g'thabiat the prison, policies shifted with the times as well The Navy considers I he beginning of a period of somewhat enlightened treatment of its prisoners came when LI. Cm d r Thomas M. Osborne of the U.S. Naval Reserve Force and significantly the first prison commander not of the Marine Corps, took control of the Sea-vey Island installation i n November, 1917.Wien Cmdr. Osborne look control, a new era of treatment and a shift in methods came into being. Before the outlook of the staff was somewhat harder. The 1917 commander brought to Scavcyrs Island the theory that a prisoner could be rehabilitated. Since that date the Navy Prison staff has treated its prisoners as if they were salvageable.leaba.Diving Work in 1864Man’s curiosity about wlial is on the bottom of the oceans, lakes and rivers has led him into constant experimentation with equipment that will permit existence under water.For many years, a familiar figure along the waterfronts of the world was the he! meted diver clad in a canvas suit.The first such gear was seen along the Piscataqua on Aug, 16, J864, when Reuben Wiley of I he Carpenter’s Dept, at Hie Portsmouth Navy Yard made a descent in the lower harbor.Wiley's mission was to locale the anchor lost by the USS Colorado when she went upstream a few months before. Diving was an old trade with Wiley, - who had worked at raising the ships sunk off Sebastopol in the Crimean War.The Portsmouth Chronicle \s editor was on hand when Wiley worked, and has left us with a description of the equipmentbe were in a vain attempt to locate the anchor.'The apparatus consuls of a suit of canvas covering the whole body except the head. The headpiece is a large copper globe, with a tube connected, for fresh air.” Weights totalling 92 pounds were attached at’the shoulders to offset buoyancy.A day or two later/another diver managed to get a line on the anchor, although he almost lost his life in the doing of it.He was William Tindall of Ports mouth,, also an experienced diver. Unfortunately for Tindall, the man tending his lift and airlines didn't have any experience. When Tindall four,cl the anchor and signalled for a lift, the man let out lineand (he diver drifted away in the fast current. Before things could be straightened out, Tindall was nearly dead from exhaustion.Several changes show the shift In attitudes. Cmdr. Osborne helped develop the Mutual Welfare League, a system that gave for the first .time to Naval prisoners some semblance of self government while they served time. Under the new setup prisoners were given responsibilities for set jobs. Cmdr. Osborne contended that while Hie prisoners^ were busy executing constructive tasks under the new system, they had less time for foul play.iilHe maintained the league ; meant smaller numbers of pri- | son fights and escapes. Meanwhile, he said, the amount oil-work -prisoners completed at the prison increased.The idea that a num convicted in a court martial and held in jail could be of some use may not have been originated by the Navy. Bui the Navy prison here and its administration docs contend that its branch of the service was the first U.S. armed forces to employ that principle at its prison.
Newspaper Details
Portsmouth Herald
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, US
Thu, Jun 11, 1970
Page 25
Full Page
Clipped by
David W.
USA 02 Nov 2019
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