[ct ertz]

The ship..
From wikipedia: Barataria, a 125 foot long 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.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. While on such a mission, the gunboat commanded by Acting Ensign James F. Perkins struck a snag in Lake Maurepas at the mouth of the Amite River early on the morning of April 7, 1863. Throughout that day, her small crew assisted by Union soldiers of the 6th Michigan Volunteers fought off Confederate guerrilla attacks while also jettisoning equipment to lighten ship. However, even sacrificing her bow gun and emptying her boiler failed to refloat Barataria by sunset. Then, lest she fall into enemy hands, Perkins put the torch to the stranded stern wheeler; and her magazine exploded soon after all hands had escaped in small boats.


The Model: This is a full hull 1/250 scale model of the little gun boat as I envision her after extensive USN refit. It is documented that the South spent only a fraction of the cost that would have been expected to fully armor this boat, and given her small size, it is likely that it was much more of a so called "tin-clad" rather then a full on ironclad. I show her as such, with typical USN additions.

The two small guns on slide mounts are taken from examples such as those on the USS Clyde, a narrow blockade runner armed with the same cannon. I reinforced the deck with iron mounting points and rails to support the weight and to protect the raw wood decking. The caemate protects the boilers and the center gun room. The single cannon amid ship again works like those on the Clyde, being swung from port to starboard mounting for action. The aft casemate protects the engine room. The pilot house is also iron protected. The middle section that likely held cut wood for fuel is a protected walk way between the two casemates made of heavy wood with slots for light well above the heads of the crew. Above this there is an un-strengthened and unarmored house for the crew when not in action, with windows and sunroof for lighting.

The build: I have printed out the model on three pages of 110 pound card stock. This is a test build and I may need to change things up if I run into issues...