USS Louisiana ( 1861 ) The second USS " Louisiana " was a propeller - driven iron hull steamer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War . Steamboat Origins . " Louisiana " was built at Wilmington , Delaware , 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 in command . Combat Service . 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 . The " Louisiana " also participated in operations like the battle for Roanoke Island , 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 " off Newport News , Virginia , but shot from both sides fell short . Two of her boats destroyed a schooner fitting out as a Confederate privateer in the Battle of Cockle Creek near Chincoteague Inlet 5 October , and two days later she captured schooner " S . T . Carrison " with a cargo of wood near Wallops Island . Chincoteague 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 to prepare for the invasion of the Carolina Sounds . For the next three 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 tried to aid Union troops repelling Confederate attacks on Washington , North Carolina . 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 , four days later . On 20 May 1863 , one of her boatcrews under Acting Master ' s Mate Charles W . Fisher , captured a still unrigged schooner in the Tar River north of Washington , N . C . The prize was named for " Louisiana ' s " captain , Richard T . Renshaw , and taken into the Navy as an ordnance hulk . The " Powder Ship " . 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 Dixon 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 for Beaufort , North Carolina , where the loading of powder was completed , and five days later arrived off Fort Fisher . Here took up the tow , and Commander Alexander 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 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 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 " .