AH-WR-1489

USS Louisiana

Screw Gunboat (Powder Ship) · United States · Lost 1864 · The Outer Banks

A Union gunboat turned into a floating bomb and blown up off Fort Fisher on Christmas Eve 1864.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Louisiana was a steamer bought by the Navy in 1861 and armed for service in the North Carolina sounds. In December 1864 she was filled with gunpowder and disguised as a blockade runner, in a plan backed by General Benjamin Butler to level Fort Fisher. Early on 24 December she was set off close to the fort. The blast did almost no damage, and the fort fell to a later attack in January 1865.

Vessel

Built: 1860
Builder: Not established
Yard: Not established
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: Not established
Propulsion: Steam, single screw
Owners: Not established

Loss

Date: December 24, 1864
Cause: Intentional sinking
Location: Off Fort Fisher, near New Inlet
Water: Atlantic Ocean
Voyage: Not established
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: Not established
Lives lost: Not established
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: Not established
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 33.97° N 77.89° W
Accuracy: General area only
Nearest: Fort Fisher, Kure Beach, North Carolina
Region: The Outer Banks

Pin marks the named place of loss, not a surveyed wreck position.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (75/100)

The wreck site has not been identified with certainty.

Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Naval History and Heritage Command
Service history and loss.
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion
Loss date, circumstances and the vessels involved.