Comments:

John Long led a troubled life.  Sent to Alcatraz for a one-year sentence for thievery and desertion, he was released at the end of his term and re-assigned to his unit, Company G of the 12th Infantry Regiment.

Created early in the Civil War, the 12th United States Infantry Regiment was sent to the West in 1869 and was later stationed on Angel Island, where Long joined Co. G after his release.  Shortly thereafter Long stole several hundred dollars from the officers and enlisted on the post and deserted to San Francisco.  Captured, he was sent to Alcatraz to await trial by court martial.  Before his trial Long hung himself in his cell.

As he took his own life before a court martial could convict him of the crimes, Long was apparently buried with full military honors.  Unlike the tombstones of convicted inmates  from Alcatraz, his gravestone bears a cross and the name of his unit.

The VA grave locator and database (in April 2004) mistakenly record Long's unit as the 12th Cavalry regiment.