Louisiana's Military Heritage:

     Vessels named USS LOUISIANA

USS LOUISIANA

Four ships have had the honor to bear the name of LOUISIANA, the 18^th state admitted to the Union. A fifth was contracted for by the U.S. Navy but never completed.  Click on the links below to learn more about each of these vessels.

The First LOUISIANA (1812 ~ ):

The first LOUISIANA, a sloop built in New Orleans in 1812, played a vital role in the defense of New Orleans during the war of 1812. From December 23, 1814 to January 08, 1815, the sloop LOUISIANA pounded advancing British troops, providing naval gunfire support for General Jackson's troops. She was credited with playing a key role in the defeat of the British and keeping the valuable port of New Orleans in American hands.

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The Second LOUISIANA (August, 1861 ~ December 24, 1864):

The second LOUISIANA, a sidewheel steamer, was commissioned in August, 1861. Originally assigned to the Union's North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, LOUISIANA operated along the Virginia coast against Confederate blockade runners. She was involved in the defense of Washington, D.C. in December of 1862, where Major General John J. Foster reported that LOUISIANA "had rendered most efficient aid, throwing their shells with great precision, and clearing the streets, through which her guns had range." She was later involved in numerous engagements off the coast and in the rivers of North Carolina. LOUISIANA was sacrificed on Christmas Eve, 1864 when she was towed, stripped and laden with explosives, to the base of Fort Fisher in Wilmington, North Carolina, and detonated in an attempt to destroy the fort with minimum loss of life. The explosion had little effect and it took Union forces several more weeks to capture this important Confederate stronghold.

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The Third LOUISIANA (June 02, 1906 ~ October 20, 1920):

The third LOUISIANA (BB-19), a Connecticut-class battleship, was laid down on February 07, 1903 by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company in Newport News, Virginia. She was launched on August 27, 1904, sponsored by Miss Juanita LaLande (sic), and commissioned on June 02, 1906 with Captain Albert R. Couden in command.

Following her shakedown cruise off the New England coast, LOUISIANA sailed on September 15, 1906 for Havana in response to an appeal by Cuban President Estrado Palma for American help in suppressing an insurrection. The new battleship carried a peace commission, comprised of Secretary of War William H. Taft and Assistant Secretary of State Robert Bacon, which arranged for a provisional government of the island. LOUISIANA stood by while this government was set up and then returned the commission to Fortress Monroe, Virginia.

LOUISIANA embarked President Theodore Roosevelt at Piney Point, Maryland, on November 08, 1906 for a cruise to Panama to inspect work on the construction of the Panama Canal. During her return, she briefly visited Puerto Rico—where the President studied the administration structure of the Commonwealth's government—before debarking him at Piney Point on November 26.

USS LOUISIANA (BB-19) was one of the sixteen battleships

that comprised "the Great White Fleet." The fleet was sent

by President Theodore Roosevelt on a round-the-world

cruise to demonstrate U.S. naval power. When the fleet left

San Francisco bound across the Pacific, Roosevelt said

that he feared never seeing them again.
Photo courtesy of NavSource.

Contributed to NavSource by Larry Bonn.

During 1906 and 1907, LOUISIANA visited New Orleans, Havana, and Norfolk. She maneuvered out of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and engaged in battle practice along the New England coast. On December 16, 1907 she departed Hampton Roads, Virginia, as one of the 16 battleships that President Theodore Roosevelt sent on a voyage around the world. The cruise of the "Great White Fleet" deterred hostile actions toward the United States by other countries (primarily Japan), raised American prestige as a global naval power, and impressed upon Congress the importance of a strong Navy and a thriving merchant fleet. During the circumnavigation, LOUISIANA visited Port-of-Spain; Rio de Janeiro; Junta Arenas and Valparaiso (Chile); Callao (Peru); San Diego, San Francisco, and Honolulu; Auckland (New Zealand); Sydney; Tokyo; Manila; Amey (China); Hong Kong; Manila; Columbo; Suez and Port Said; Smyrna; and Gibraltar. She returned home on February 22, 1909.

After an overhaul and maneuvers, LOUISIANA joined the 2nd Division of the Atlantic Fleet on November 01, 1910 and sailed for European waters to visit English and French ports before returning to the United States in the spring of 1911. During the summer, she paid formal visits to the north European ports of Copenhagen; Tralhafuet (Sweden); Kronatadt (Finland); and Kiel (Germany). She was inspected by the Kings of Denmark and Sweden, the Kaiser, and the Tsar.

USS LOUISIANA (BB-19) visited Mexican waters

on three separate occasions to protect American

citizens and interests during that nation's turbulent

era of revolutions.
Photo courtesy of NavSource.  Contributed to

NavSource by the Naval Historical Center.

Between July 06, 1913 and September 24, 1915, LOUISIANA made three voyages from east coast ports to Mexican waters. On the first (July 06 - December 29, 1913), she stood by to protect American lives and property and to help enforce both the Monroe Doctrine and the arms embargo which had been established to discourage further revolutionary disturbances in Mexico. Her second voyage (April 14 - August 08, 1914) came at a time when tension between Mexico and the United States was at its peak during the shelling and occupation of Vera Cruz. LOUISIANA sailed a third time for Mexican waters to protect American interests again from August 17 to September 24, 1915.

Returning from the Gulf of Mexico, LOUISIANA was placed in reserve at Norfolk. Until the United States entered World War I, she served as a training ship for midshipmen and naval militiamen on summer cruises.

During World War I, LOUISIANA was assigned as a gunnery and engineering training ship, cruising off the middle Atlantic coast until September 25, 1918. At that time, she became one of the escorts for a convoy to Halifax. Beginning on December 24, she saw duty as a troop transport, making four voyages to Brest, France, to carry troops back to the United States. Following her final trip back from Brest, LOUISIANA reported to the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard where she decommissioned on October 20, 1920 and was sold for scrap on November 01, 1923.

Ship's Statistics

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The Uncompleted LOUISIANA:

A fourth LOUISIANA (BB-71) was planned in the 1940s, a new class of battleship (the Montana-class) designed with an increased emphasis on anti-aircraft defenses. With a displacement of 58,000 tons, a length of 903 feet, and a beam of 120 feet, these dreadnaughts would have dwarfed even the Iowa-class battleships. Their armament was even more impressive, consisting of twelve 16"/50-cal. guns in four triple mounts, twenty 5"/54-cal. guns, and eight quad 40mm anti-aircraft guns. Construction of LOUISIANA was authorized on July 19, 1940 and assigned to the Norfolk Navy Shipyard at Portsmouth, Virginia. However, plans for this class of battleship were abandoned as the war progressed and the focus of naval warfare shifted from the battleship to the aircraft carrier. Before her keel could be laid, construction of LOUISIANA was cancelled on July 21, 1943.ds.

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The Fourth LOUISIANA (September 06, 1997 ~ Present):

USS LOUISIANA (SSBN-743) as seen at her

christening on July 27, 1996.

USS LOUISIANA (SSBN-743) is the 18th and last of the TRIDENT Ohio-class submarines. She was christened at Electric Boat Company in Groton,

Connecticut on July 27, 1996. She commissioned into the fleet on Sepetmber 06, 1997, in King's Bay, Georgia.

As of this time, LOUISIANA remains on active duty with the fleet.

Ship's Statistics

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All information listed above taken from the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, except for USS LOUISIANA (SSBN-743).  Information on USS LOUISIANA (SSBN-743) courtesy of U.S. Navy.
All photos courtesy of U.S. Navy unless otherwise noted.

**Copyright 1997-2006 by Louisiana Naval War Memorial Commission**