On the other hand, testimony from her enemies indicates that she exchanged shots with at least one attacking ship, (misidentified as in the Confederate reports). Three shots from Louisiana went all the way through the Federal vessel, while the return broadside bounced harmlessly off the Rebel's armor. Indeed, the armor was effective; only three men were killed on Louisiana, all of them in exposed positions. One of them was her captain, Commander McIntosh. Destruction Once the Federal fleet had passed out of range, Louisiana had no further part in the action. Her fate was henceforth tied to that of the forts, which prepared for an expected attack by the Union army accompanying the fleet, led by Major General Benjamin Butler. However, on the night of 28 April, the enlisted men in Fort Jackson mutinied and forced the surrender of both forts to Commander Porter. The naval officers on Louisiana were not consulted at any time during the negotiations between Porter and General Duncan, so they considered themselves not bound to respect the truce declared by the two sides. While discussions of terms were going on, they decided not to let their ship fall into enemy hands. Louisiana was set afire, and her crew went ashore. The flames soon parted the lines that held her to the bank, and she drifted down the river. When she was nearly abreast of Fort St. Philip, the fire reached her magazine, and she blew up with a blast that killed a soldier there. Assessment Perhaps to counter charges that the Confederate Navy was responsible, by its inaction, for the failure of the forts to turn back Farragut's fleet, Commander John K. Mitchell, second in command under Commodore Whittle, pointed out several shortcomings of Louisiana, any one of which would have seriously compromised her fighting ability. 1. The arrangement of the paddlewheels meant that the after wheel was always in the wash of the other, with the result that its power was wasted. 2. The wash also created an eddy at the rudders, making it impossible to steer. 3. The gun ports were too small to allow either elevation or traverse. Consequently, she would have to fight at close range, and furthermore her guns covered only 40 degrees of azimuth. 4. The gun deck was uninhabitable in summer, particularly when the boilers were in use. Today The wreckage of the Louisiana lays at the bottom