USS Barataria (1862)
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 USS Barataria snagged in Amite River | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Laid down | date unknown |
| Launched | date unknown |
| Acquired | January 1, 1863 |
| In service | circa January 1863 |
| Out of service | April 7, 1863 |
| Stricken | 1863 (est.) |
| Captured |
|
| Fate | Scuttled, April 7, 1863 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 400 tons |
| Length | 125 ft (38 m) |
| Beam | not known |
| Draught | 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | not known |
| Complement | not known |
| Armament | two 24-pounder howitzers |
| Armour | ironclad |
The first USS Barataria was a steamer captured by the Union Army during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.
Barataria, an ironclad gunboat, was seized by the Union Army at New Orleans, Louisiana, shortly after Flag Officer David Farragut's task force from the West Gulf Blockading Squadron captured that city on April 25, 1862. The Union Army used the steamer through the end of the year and transferred her to the Navy on January 1, 1863.
Modified for Louisiana coastal and inland operations
The steamer was outfitted at New Orleans and armed with two 24-pounder howitzers so that she might serve as a gunboat in the shallow inland waters of Louisiana—such as Lake Borgne, Lake Pontchartrain, and Lake Maurepas.
Although few records of her service have survived, it seems that Barataria was used primarily to support operations of Army troops commanded by Major General Godfrey Weitzel in Louisiana's coastal inland waters.
