USS Adela was a steamer captured by the Union Navy during the American Civil War. She was used by the Union Navy as a gunboat in support of the Union Navy blockade of Confederate waterways.

Louis Napoleon Stodder was a U.S. Navy officer who served in the American Civil War as acting master on the famous USS Monitor when it fought the Merrimack at Hampton Roads on March 8–9, 1862. He is also noted for his heroic efforts in the final hours before Monitor sank in a violent storm at sea off Cape Hatteras that same year. He later commanded USS Adela and served in the East Gulf Blockading Squadron. After the Civil War, he was promoted to captain and served with distinction, commanding other vessels and served in other capacities. He continued serving in the Navy until 1902. When he retired, Stodder lived out the remainder of his years in New York.