The first USS Barataria was a steamer captured by the Union Army during the American Civil War.

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.

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.