CSS Louisiana

The CSS Louisiana was an ironclad ship of the Confederate States Navy built to aid in defense of the lower Mississippi from invasion of the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

Construction of the Louisiana began in mid-October, 1861 by E.C. Murray in New Orleans. The ship was designed for four engines, two paddle-wheels in a center well, and two propellors with twin rudders. The casemate extended her full length, minus 25 feet at each end. It was covered by "T" railroad iron in two courses, while its top was encompassed by sheet iron bulwarks nearly four feet high.

The construction of the Louisiana was delayed due to a lack of sufficient materials. The desperation to find supplies and tools led to the use of green wood, wood freshly cut and not entirely suitable for construction purposes, to be used in the assembly of the ship. The quality of both the structure of the ship and materials used in building the Louisiana were so poor that the ship leaked to the extent that water was knee deep on the gun deck during action.

Laid down on February 2, 1862, the Louisiana was incomplete even to April 20, at which time it was towed down the Mississippi River to Fort St. Philip. Union mortar boats, led by Commander David D. Porter had for four days been attacking Fort St. Philip and the nearby Fort Jackson. The Louisiana was brought to the location in hopes of aiding the resistance to Porter's attacks.

The Louisiana, under captain Commander C.F. McIntosh, along with other ships of the Confederate Navy and the forts themselves sought to defend the passage to New Orleans. The intention of the North was to take New Orleans in order to have a greater advantage in fulfilling the Anaconda Plan. The Anaconda Plan was a Yankee strategy to envelop the Confederacy by way of control of the Mississippi River and the oceans surrounding the Confederacy.

The unfinished construction of the Louisiana did not allow for any maneuvering during any naval action. Instead, Captain John K. Mitchell, commander of Confederate naval forces in the lower Mississippi, commissioned the Louisiana as a floating battery. The ship was tied on the eastern bank of the river, a half mile up from Fort St. Philip, where she would be safe from Union mortar boat attacks, while mechanics worked diligently to prepare the ship and the ship's guns for action.

David Farragut, commander of the United States navy at the time, who was appointed to rear admiral in July of the same year, moved his fleet past both forts on April 24, 1862. The full potential of the Louisiana was not realized due to the ship's incomplete assembly, which not only disrupted maneuverability, but also affected range of fire.

The Union navy had destroyed most all of the Confederate ships that fought in resistance to the invasion, but, in spite of her weaknesses, the Louisiana proved strong and dangerous. At one point during the Union fleet's movement upriver, the USS Iroquois, a perfectly operational warship, delivered a broadside attack on the Louisiana from just a few feet away. Although the Louisiana was not ready for combat, especially at such close range, she suffered minimal damage, while the Iroquois was quite shaken by the Louisiana.

Commander Porter, with his Union mortar boats, stayed in the lower Mississippi while Faragut's fleet moved upriver on April 24. More attempts were made to bring the Louisiana up to full power in hopes that she would be able to sail and maneuver against the remaining Union forces, rather than remain a stationary battery.

On April 28, 1862, as final maintenance work on the Louisiana was being completed, the Confederate naval forces in the area were forced to surrender to Commander Porter. In a last stand against surrender to and capture by the Yankees, Captain Mitchell set fire to the Louisiana and escaped to the opposite bank of the Mississippi, where he was later captured.

In the afternoon of the same day, the Louisiana came untied and floated downriver. In the middle of peace and surrender negotiations between Union Commander Porter and the Confederate forts St. Philip and Jackson, gunfire was heard as the blazes on the Louisiana ignited the charges of the guns on the ship.

The fire aboard the ship grew so large, that she finally exploded right outside of Fort St. Philip. The explosion of the CSS Louisiana was seen and heard from miles away.

The wreckage of the Louisiana lay at the bottom of the Mississippi River until November, 1981, when it was magnetically located by NUMA. The official website of the search is here.

Reference

This article includes content from USS KIDD DD-661

Ship technical characteristics are taken from CSS Louisiana information and The U.S. Naval Historical Center.

External Links

• Hunt For the Lost Confederate Fleet
• U.S. Naval Historical Center Official Website