Military Prisons

History

In 1871, then-Judge Advocate Major Thomas F. Barr began to evaluate the experience of military prisoners living among different stockades and state correctional facilities across the nation. He found that their treatment varied considerably, particularly concerning disciplinary measures. Prior to the formation of separate military prisons, minor infractions tended to be addressed harshly, with punishments such as flogging, shackling, tattooing, branding, solitary confinement, and execution. In a letter to the Secretary of War, William W. Belnap, Major Barr expressed his concerns about the U.S. system and requested that research be conducted on the British Military Prisons in Canada as a comparison.

British Military Prisons ran according to a mission based on three goals: to maintain discipline, reform offenders, and reduce the rate of military reoffending. These facilities were run systematically, with consistent use of discipline and prisoner classification. Authority was highly valued, as long as it was humane and effective in the goals of the overall mission. The findings of this research lead to a legislation submitted by the U.S. Congress in January 1872, establishing the first American military prison, also the first federal penal institution. The bill was written with specifications for the prison to be at Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois. This site, already guarded and situated between two rivers, provided opportunity for prisoner labor in the form of assembly and repair of small arms. Its location was soon criticized, however, as the bordering rivers would necessitate intensified security measures to protect both the arsenal itself and its new residents. In addition, the form of labor would require time-intensive training measures not conducive to the high turnover rate of inmates. Thus, an amendment to the bill in May 1874 led to the establishment of the first military prison at its present location: Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

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