louisiana2000

Few warships served Union forces better than the USS Louisiana during the Civil War. From the time it was purchased by the United States Navy in July, 1861 and commissioned in August, 1861, the propeller-driven iron hull steamer became a thorn in the side of Confederate forces.

The USS Louisiana was first used to used to block the passage of Confederate blockade runners and attack their bases. It was part of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and patrolled the Virgina coast until January, 1862.
In that month, the steamer was sent to patrol the Carolina sounds further south. The USS Louisiana continued as a defender of Washington for the next three years, patrolling those waters and rendering artillery support to land-based Union troops in North Carolina.

In late 1864, the USS Louisiana embarked on its final mission when the steamer was partially stripped down, rigged with heavy explosives and sent to Fort Fisher, a confederate base guarding Wilmington, North Carolina. The USS Louisiana was slated to be blown up and cripple the fort walls prior to a planned attack by union forces. The steamer was detonated on December 23 as planned, but the explosion did little damage to Fort Fisher.