The second USS Louisiana was a propeller-driven iron hull steamer in the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

.

Steamboat Origins

Louisiana was built at Wilmington, Delaware

Wilmington, Delaware

Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...

, in 1860 by the Harlan & Hollingsworth Iron Shipbuilding Company. Its first owners were S & J.M. Flanagan of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was purchased by the Navy at Philadelphia 10 July 1861; and commissioned in August 1861, Lieutenant Alexander Murray

Alexander Murray (1816-1884)

Alexander Murray was an officer in the United States Navy, who served during the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War.-Biography:...

 in command.

Combat Service

Assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, until January 1862 Louisiana operated along the Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 coast, blocking the passage of Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 blockade runners, and attacking them at their bases. The Louisiana also participated in operations like the battle for Roanoke Island

Battle of Roanoke Island

The opening phase of what came to be called the Burnside Expedition, the Battle of Roanoke Island was an amphibious operation of the American Civil War, fought on February 7–8, 1862, in the North Carolina Sounds a short distance south of the Virginia border...

, which denied the use of coastal inlets and seaboard towns to the blockade runners and tied down Confederate troops to guard those bases which could be held. On 13 September 1861, with , Louisiana engaged CSS Patrick Henry

CSS Patrick Henry

CSS Patrick Henry was built in New York City in 1859 by the renowned William H. Webb for the Old Dominion Steam Ship Line as the civilian steamer Yorktown, a brigantine-rigged side-wheel steamer. She carried passengers and freight between Richmond, Virginia and New York City...

 off Newport News, Virginia

Newport News, Virginia

Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...

, but shot from both sides fell short. Two of her boats destroyed a schooner fitting out as a Confederate privateer

Privateer

A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...

 in the Battle of Cockle Creek

Battle of Cockle Creek

The Battle of Cockle Creek, October 5, 1861, was a minor naval engagement off Chincoteague, Virginia early in the American Civil War.-Background:...

 near Chincoteague Inlet

Chincoteague Inlet

Chincoteague Inlet is an inlet on the Eastern Shore of Virginia at the mouth of the Chincoteague Channel between Wallops Island and Assateague Island....

 5 October, and two days later she captured schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

 S. T. Carrison with a cargo of wood near Wallops Island

Wallops Island

Wallops Island is a island off the east coast of Virginia, part of the barrier islands that stretch along the eastern seaboard of the United States of America.It is located in Accomack County, Virginia...

.

Chincoteague Island

Chincoteague, Virginia

Chincoteague is a town on Chincoteague Island in Accomack County, Virginia, United States. The population was 4,317 at the 2000 census. The town is perhaps best known for the Chincoteague Ponies, although these are not actually on the island of Chincoteague but on nearby Assateague Island...

 was lost to the Confederacy as a base when on 14 October Louisiana's Lt. Murray witnessed the administration of the oath of allegiance to the United States to Chincoteague's citizens. Her boats, led by Lt. Alfred Hopkins, surprised and burned three Confederate vessels at Chincoteague Inlet 28 and 29 October.

Service in North Carolina

On 2 January 1862, Louisiana was ordered to Hatteras Inlet

Hatteras Inlet

Hatteras Inlet is a estuary in North Carolina, located along the Outer Banks, separating Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island. It connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pamlico Sound. Hatteras Inlet is located entirely within Hyde County.- History :...

 to prepare for the invasion of the Carolina Sounds. For the next three years, she patrolled, supported Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 troops and made raids along the many miles of the intricate water system whose eventual capture would be a mortal blow to the Confederacy. Typical of such actions was that of 6 September 1862, when she tried to aid Union troops repelling Confederate attacks on Washington, North Carolina

Washington, North Carolina

Washington is a city in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 9,744 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beaufort County. The closest major city is Greenville, approximately 20 miles to the west....

. Their commander, Major General John G. Poster, reported that Louisiana "had rendered most efficient aid, throwing her shells with great precision, and clearing the streets, through which her guns had range."

She captured schooner Alice L. Webb at Rose Bay, North Carolina, 5 November 1862, then joined in the Army–Navy expedition which captured Greenville, North Carolina

Greenville, North Carolina

Greenville is the county seat of Pitt County and principal city of the Greenville, North Carolina metropolitan area. Greenville is the health, entertainment, and educational hub of North Carolina's Tidewater and Coastal Plain and in 2008 was listed as the Tenth Largest City in North Carolina...

, four days later. On 20 May 1863, one of her boatcrews under Acting Master's Mate

Master's mate

Master's mate is an obsolete rating which was used by the Royal Navy, United States Navy and merchant services in both countries for a senior petty officer who assisted the master...

 Charles W. Fisher

Charles W. Fisher

Charles Wellington Fisher was a Canadian politician who served as the first Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.-Biography:...

, captured a still unrigged schooner in the Tar River

Tar River

The Tar River is a river that is approximately long, of northeast North Carolina flowing generally southeast to an estuary of Pamlico Sound. The Tar River becomes the tidal Pamlico River once it underpasses the U.S...

 north of Washington, N.C. The prize

USS Renshaw (1862)

The first USS Renshaw was a schooner in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.Renshaw, a new schooner still unrigged, was captured by a boatcrew from in the Tar River some 5 miles above Washington, North Carolina, on 20 May 1862. The members of the expedition named the prize,...

 was named for Louisiana's captain, Richard T. Renshaw

Richard T. Renshaw

Richard T. Renshaw was an officer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War.Renshaw entered the Navy as a midshipman on January 26, 1838, and was commissioned acting master September 10, 1851. Resigning June 29, 1852, Renshaw reentered the Navy at the beginning of the Civil War as a...

, and taken into the Navy as an ordnance hulk.

The "Powder Ship"

Fort Fisher

Fort Fisher

Fort Fisher was a Confederate fort during the American Civil War. It protected the vital trading routes of the port at Wilmington, North Carolina, from 1861 until its capture by the Union in 1865....

, guarding Wilmington, North Carolina

Wilmington, North Carolina

Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...

, was the key to the base which northern commanders foresaw the South employing after the fall of Charleston, and Commodore David Dixon Porter

David Dixon Porter

David Dixon Porter was a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the United States Navy. Promoted as the second man to the rank of admiral, after his adoptive brother David G...

 and Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler

Benjamin Franklin Butler (politician)

Benjamin Franklin Butler was an American lawyer and politician who represented Massachusetts in the United States House of Representatives and later served as the 33rd Governor of Massachusetts....

, knowing that an assault on so powerful a defense would be long and costly, hoped to reduce it by blowing up an explosive laden ship under its walls. On 26 November 1864 contrary to naval ordnance experts' advice, Louisiana was designated for this assignment, and early in December she proceeded to Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...

 to be partially stripped and laden with explosives. She left Hampton Roads 13 December in tow of for Beaufort, North Carolina

Beaufort, North Carolina

Beaufort is a town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. Established in 1709, it is the third-oldest town in North Carolina.The population was 4,189 at the 2008 census and it is the county seat of Carteret County...

, where the loading of powder was completed, and five days later arrived off Fort Fisher. Here took up the tow, and Commander Alexander Rhind

Alexander Rhind

Alexander Colden Rhind was an rear admiral in the United States Navy, who served during the Mexican–American War and American Civil War.-Early career:...

 with a volunteer crew prepared for the attack. Wilderness and Louisiana continued toward Fort Fisher, but were turned back by the heavy swells which with worsening weather delayed the entire amphibious attack in leaving its base at Beaufort. The final attempt was made on 23 December, when Wilderness brought Louisiana into position under Fort Fisher late in the evening. Rhind and his crew lit the fuses and kindled a fire aft, then escaped in small boats to Wilderness. waiting anxiously for 01:18 24 December, when the fuses were timed to explode. They failed, but the fire set aft worked its way from the stern to the powder and blew Louisiana up as planned, but with little effect. Several weeks later, the massed gunfire of the fleet and amphibious assault reduced the last great bastion of the Carolina Sounds.

The Wreck

In 1994 state underwater archaeologists and students from East Carolina University

East Carolina University

East Carolina University is a public, coeducational, engaged doctoral/research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the university is the largest institution of higher learning in...

conducted a survey of the area off Fort Fisher. Though many Civil War era wrecks were mapped, no remains were found that could be associated with that of the Louisiana.

External links

• Storming the Ramparts