| The second Louisiana, a side wheel steamer built at Wilmington,
Delaware, in 1860, was purchased by the Navy at Philadelphia 10 July 1861;
and commissioned in August 1861, Lt. Alexander Murray in command. |
| Assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, until January
1862 Louisiana operated along the Virginia coast, blocking the passage
of Confederate blockade runners, and attacking them at their bases. Similar
operations denied the use of coastal inlets and seaboard towns to the
blockade-runners, and tied down Confederate troops to guard those of such
bases that could be held. On 13 September 1861, with Savannah,
Louisiana engaged CSS Patrick Henry off Newport News, but shot
from both sides fell short. Two of her boats destroyed a schooner fitting
out as a Confederate privateer at Chincoteague Inlet 5 October, and 2 days
later, she captured schooner S. T. Carrison with a cargo of wood near
Wallops Island. |
| Chincoteaque Island was lost to the Confederacy as a base when
on 14 October Louisiana's Lt. A. 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. |
| On 2 January 1862, Louisiana was ordered to Hatteras Inlet
to prepare for the invasion of the Carolina Sounds. For the next 3 years,
she patrolled, supported Army 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 fired to aid Union troops repelling Confederate attacks on Washington,
North Carolina. Their commander, Maj. Gen. John G. Foster, 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, N.C.,
5 November 1862, then joined in the Army and Navy expedition, which captured
Greenville, North Carolina, 4 days later. On 20 May 1863, one of her boat
crews under Acting Master's Mate Charles W. Fisher captured a still un-rigged
schooner in the Tar River north of Washington, North Carolina. The prize
was named for Louisiana's captain, R. T. Renshaw, and taken into the
Navy as an ordnance hulk. |
| Fort Fisher, guarding Wilmington, North Carolina, was the key
to the base which northern commanders foresaw the South employing after the
fall of Charleston, and Commodore David Porter and Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler,
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 to be partially stripped and laden with
explosives. She left Hampton Roads 13 December in tow of Sassacus
for Beaufort, North Carolina, where the loading of powder was completed,
and 5 days later arrived off Fort Fisher. Here Wilderness took up
the tow, and Comdr. A. C. Rhind, 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 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 1:18 AM on 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. |
Tonnage, 295; Length, 143'2"; Beam, 27'3"; Draft, 8'6"; Depth of
hold, 8'1"; Complement, 85 ; Armament, one 8" Dahlgren Smooth Bore, one 32-pdr.,
one 12-pdr. Dahlgren Rifle) |
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