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4B—Portsmouth Herold (N.H.l Thurs., June M, 1970From ke:viewing tiie sd time.Meanenglnecopprelureason.damagifrom I was l( river \ the dy 24 hou nol ris: to mai 4 o’loc for theAll \ cessed Naval to a ia safeThe a base scvera the poAt : al the .shrillsharlxtt blast ;Thii Forbidding Pile of Rolt;k Is in the Navy os The Castle'The Castle'ShotchargihighhaslcrThr.stale,tariesDisciplinary Command Busy PlaceBy JOHN KELSO That the U.S. Kaw's main prison on Seavey’s Island does not look the same todav asThe prison site with Its array of building's scattered around the ominous “castle” today appears, impressive, overbearing.it did when it was first used When it sprang up 35 years to detain errant seamen 3ft years ago, the prison had its problems, ago is not surprising. and was not the structural momToday the prison, or U.S. sler that it seems to he today.Naval Disciplinary Command, Castle” or “Rock” is a com*j*tex of more than 30 structures.ie 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 be held criminal in Chilian courts. Others would bo viewed as heinous in any court.Hid Disciplinary Command on Scavcy’s Island, part of Uie 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 counterpartis located at Ft. Leavenworth, Kans.)has 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.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. Kelton 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 IhLs, 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 prisonAlong with struelural changesIIIat 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 j n November, 1917.Wien Cmdr. Osborne took 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 Scavcy’s Island the theory that a prisoner could be rehabilitated. Since that dale the Navy Prison staff has treated its prisoners as if they were salvageable.nervo more was J of pr Fosle lo m befor Wit the i point giver the s COO f burst Tn . An learn a ht befoi as aTilpurbhea\ilsel:by forciDiving Work in 1864Man’s curiosity about wlial is on the bottom of the oceans, lakes and rivers has led him into constant experimental ion 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, 1864, when Reuben Wiley of the 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 equipmenthe were in a vain attempt to locate the anchor.'The apparatus consists 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 lo get a line on the anchor, a I though 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 the diver drifted away in the fast current. Before things could be straightened out, Tindall was nearly dead from exhaustion.As sun*; ami bone In mile mon rive: Cast Goa nu ik occt with Vi face wall lost andSeveral changes show the shift in attitudes. Cmdr. Osborne helped develop the Mutual Welfare League, a system that gave for the first .time to Naval pri-jlcss soners some semblance of self! W government while they served lliei 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.sionTibiasSIJFffumoveiPoiiTitheNoHe maintained the league meant smaller numbers of prison fights and escapes. Mean- ’xja: while, he said, the amount ot]wasmirwork -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 Ihe Navy. But 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.0tunsituonl;I lie t inji Sir aHavisstri
Newspaper Details
Portsmouth Herald
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, US
Thu, Jun 11, 1970
Page 25
Full Page
Clipped by
David W.
USA 04 Nov 2019
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