Biography
Philip Grosser was born in Slavuta, Ukraine 1890; established anarchist activist in Boston by 1917; among the first to refuse the draft on political — rather than religious — grounds. Court-martialed and sent to Alcatraz; refused the uniform, refused to stand in formation, and refused "hard labor"; retaliated against with extended solitary, beatings, being dragged on a rope, denial of toilet facilities, and confinement in Alcatraz's "iron maidens" (upright iron cages). After release wrote one of the earliest published exposés of conditions at Alcatraz, the 32-page pamphlet "Alcatraz – Uncle Sam's Devil's Island" (1933). Took his own life in Boston Oct 1933.
Philip B. Grosser was a conscientious objector from Massachusetts imprisoned during World War I. Court-martialed for refusing military service, he was held at Fort Leavenworth; Alcatraz Island. Sentenced to 30 years in prison on Aug. (Documented in the Swarthmore College Peace Collection's World War I Conscientious Objectors database.) Archival note: registered for draft on June 5, 1917, as a C.O.; arrested in Boston in Dec. 1917 for failing to report for military duty; interviewed by Bd. in Feb. ___ at Leavenworth; …
His memoir distinguishes an earlier civilian arrest for draft refusal in 1917, followed by actual release on $500 bond, from his later military confinement. This earlier bond release is a separate physical custody episode, not continuous military imprisonment. The memoir also describes punishment and an additional three-month nominal military sentence, without establishing three further months actually served. A contemporary October 1933 letter gives his death as October 18, differing from the existing October 15 metadata; that source discrepancy is preserved pending an independent death record. Source: https://www.thesparrowsnest.org.uk/collections/public_archive/1120.pdf#page=7
1920s remaining-entry review: Philip Grosser's firsthand account, Uncle Sam's Devil's Island (Kate Sharpley Library reprint), printed pages 6-9 and 17-18, distinguishes his initial 1917 civil arrest and $500 bond from military custody beginning in December 1917. He describes Fort Banks, Fort Andrews, arrival at Fort Jay on June 11, 1918, later Leavenworth confinement, and departure for Alcatraz in June 1919. These are stages of one military imprisonment, not two independent sentences or a release in December 1919. The first inherited record is retained as the earlier custody stage; its false release is removed, and its institution field is left unassigned because December 1917 was not Leavenworth admission. The Alcatraz record is retained as the later stage, with admission at year precision pending its admission register. The inherited August 14, 1917 arrest/admission and December 14, 1920 release are unsupported by this account. His memoir dates the release order December 2, 1920 but describes continued solitary confinement over unsigned discharge papers before freedom; December 1920 is therefore retained at month precision, not an invented exact departure day. Existing portrait retained. No case is deleted and transfers are not recorded as releases.
Grosser's firsthand account, printed pages 6-9 and 17-18
In his memoir, Grosser dates his court-martial conviction to April 25, 1918. He also describes a later Alcatraz court-martial adding three months to his original thirty-year sentence. These are imposed terms, not additional actual custody totals.
