The [USS Louisiana](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Louisiana_(1812) was an american sloop that participated in the Battle of New Orleans. Is there a picture of this ship? Does anyone know of any similar ships still actively sailing today(in the United States)? Thanks so much!
The "Louisiana" was originally a merchant ship built in New Orleans in 1812.
She was 99 feet long, 28 foot beam. Before the Battle of New Orleans, in 1815, she was armed with 16 24 pounder cannon.
She was very effective and played a key role in winning the battle as she bombarded the British troops from the Mississippi River. At one point, there was no wind, but the "Louisiana" needed to get up the river for a better position to fire on the British. Her crew took lines ashore and towed her upstream with man power.
At this time a "sloop of war" was generally a full rigged ship which was too small to be rated as a "frigate".
That is exactly what the Louisiana was.
Here is a drawing of her by a modern marine artist.
http://www.windjammer-arts.com/images/USS%20Louisiana%201812%20m.jpg
Here is a modern painting:
http://www.artworkoriginals.com/eb5tby7e.htm
The "Louisiana" was broken up in 1821, but there have been five US Navy ships, and one Confederate Navy ship which subsequently carried the name. The current "Louisiana" is an Ohio class nuclear submarine.
The most similar ship afloat today is "HMS Surprise", originally built in Lunenburg Nova Scotia in 1970 as a replica of the HMS Rose, a 20 gun sixth rate frigate built in 1757 (originally the replica was named "HMS Rose" but was re-named after playing the part of the fictional HMS Surprise in the movie "Master and Commander"). She is now a museum ship in San Diego.
The original HMS Rose fought in the Royal Navy in the American Revolution and was scuttled in 1779 to block one of the channels leading to the harbor in Savannah Georgia.
The "Surprise" is somewhat larger than the "Louisiana", at 135 feet length, 32 foot beam. The original HMS Rose was built almost 60 years earlier than the "Louisiana", so some details look different, but she is undoubtedly the closest thing still in the water today.
Here are some pictures of HMS Surprise:
http://www.historicships.com/TALLSHIPS/Latina/HMS_Surprise_AL22910/HMS%20Surprise%20AL22910.htm
