The second USS ''Atlanta'' was a

protected cruiser Protected cruisers, a type of naval cruiser of the late-19th century, gained their description because an armoured deck offered protection for vital machine-spaces from fragments caused by shells exploding above them. Protected cruisers re ...

and one of the first steel warships of the "New Navy" of the 1880s. In some references she is combined with as the ''Atlanta'' class, in others as the ''Boston'' class. ''Atlanta'' was laid down on 8 November 1883 at

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; launched on 9 October 1884; sponsored by Miss Jessie Lincoln, the daughter of

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and granddaughter of President

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; and commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 19 July 1886, Captain Francis M. Bunce in command.

Design and construction

''Atlanta'' was ordered as part of the "ABCD" ships, the others being the cruisers and and the dispatch vessel . All were ordered from the same shipyard, John Roach & Sons of

. However, when

Secretary of the Navy The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense. By law, the se ...

William C. Whitney initially refused to accept ''Dolphin'', claiming her design was defective, the Roach yard went bankrupt and ''Atlanta'' was completed at the New York Navy Yard, which had little experience with steel-hulled ships.Friedman, pp. 18–22, 457 As-built armament included two /30 caliber Mark 1 guns, six /30 caliber Mark 2 guns,DiGiulian, Tony, US 6"/30 and 6"/35 guns at Navweaps.com
/ref> two 6-pounder () rapid fire guns, two 3-pounder () Hotchkiss revolving cannon, two 1-pounder () Hotchkiss revolving cannon, and two

.45 caliber This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets in the to caliber range. *''Length'' refers to the cartridge case Case or CASE may refer to: Containers * Case (goods) A case of some merchandise Merchandising is any practic ...

(11.4 mm) Gatling guns. The 8-inch guns were initially in open

barbette Barbettes are several types of gun emplacement in terrestrial fortifications or on naval ships. In recent naval usage, a barbette is a protective circular armour support for a heavy gun turret. This evolved from earlier forms of gun protectio ...

s with gun shields added later.Gardiner and Chesneau, p. 150 Armor protection was light, with 2-inch (50.8 mm) gun shields and conning tower, and a 1.5-inch (38.1 mm) deck extending over the machinery spaces.Bauer and Roberts, p. 141 The as-built engineering plant included eight coal-fired cylindrical fire-tube boilers producing steam and a horizontal

compound engine A compound engine is an engine that has more than one stage for recovering energy from the same working fluid, with the exhaust from the first stage passing through the second stage, and in some cases then on to another subsequent stage or even st ...

producing driving one shaft. Like the other "ABCD" ships, ''Atlanta'' was built with a sail rig to increase cruising range, though it was later removed. The ship carried up to 490 tons of coal, with a cruising range as built of at .Gibbons, pp. 232

Refit

In 1897–1899 ''Atlanta'' received a new

triple-expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up ...

of and the 6-inch guns were converted to rapid firing with brass case ammunition replacing powder bags.

Service history

''Atlanta'' remained at New York fitting out and undergoing modifications until July 1887, when she joined the North Atlantic Squadron. For a little over two years, she cruised the Atlantic coast, the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

, and the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

. On 30 September 1889, she was reassigned to the

Squadron of Evolution The Squadron of Evolution—sometimes referred to as the "White Squadron"— was a transitional unit in the United States Navy during the late 19th century. It was probably inspired by the French "Escadre d'évolution" of the 18th and 19th centur ...

with which she voyaged to

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and the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

that winter. On the return voyage the protected cruiser paid a friendship visit to the Republic of

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before returning to New York at the end of July 1890. There, she resumed duty along the east coast and in the West Indies. Between February and April 1891, she cruised the Gulf of Mexico. From May–October, the ship operated along the Atlantic coast and participated in exercises and maneuvers at Boston and New York, training members of the Naval Militia. Between October 1891 and July 1892, she served successively along the east coast, in the West Indies, and in

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n waters. On 2 September 1892, the cruiser was transferred from the Squadron of Evolution back to the North Atlantic Squadron. Between December 1892 and February 1893, she operated in the West Indies protecting American interests. From March–May, the warship participated in the

Naval Review A fleet review or naval review is an event where a gathering of ships from a particular navy is paraded and reviewed by an incumbent head of state and/or other official civilian and military dignitaries. A number of national navies continue to ...

held at

Hampton Roads, Virginia Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James, Nansemond and Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's Point where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic O ...

. In May–June, she returned to the Gulf of Mexico. On 18 July 1893, ''Atlanta'' was placed out of commission at Norfolk, Virginia. There, she remained until recommissioned on 2 April 1894. She returned to duty on the North Atlantic station for the next 17 months. During that assignment, she put a landing party ashore at Boca del Toro, Colombia, on 8 March 1895 to protect American lives and property threatened by a Liberal Party revolt and the activity of filibusters. In September 1895, she was placed out of commission at the New York Navy Yard where she was laid up for the next five years. On 15 September 1900, she was placed back in commission at New York, Comdr. E. C. Pendleton in command. Late in October, the ship put to sea to join the South Atlantic Squadron off the coast of Brazil. She cruised those waters until November 1902 when she was transferred to the Caribbean Squadron. During the latter tour of duty, she again landed shore parties to protect American interests; first at

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in April 1903 and then at Porto Bello,

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, the following December. She made a voyage to the Mediterranean in 1904 and returned in October, via the western coast of

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and

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, to the South Atlantic station. She arrived back at Hampton Roads on 26 December and, in January 1905, moved to Annapolis, Maryland, where she was placed in reserve on 12 January. ''Atlanta'' remained inactive only until 8 May, at which time she was returned to full commission for service in the Coast Squadron to participate in midshipman training missions. In November 1905, the warship moved to Norfolk where she served as a

barracks ship A barracks ship or barracks barge or berthing barge, or in civilian use accommodation vessel or accommodation ship, is a ship or a non-self-propelled barge containing a superstructure of a type suitable for use as a temporary barracks for s ...

for sailors of the Torpedo Flotilla until 1909. At that time, she moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where she resumed duty as a barracks ship. On 23 March 1912, ''Atlanta'' was relieved of duty, and on 24 April her name was struck from the

Navy List A Navy Directory, formerly the Navy List or Naval Register is an official list of naval officers, their ranks and seniority, the ships which they command or to which they are appointed, etc., that is published by the government or naval autho ...

. The ship was sold at Charleston on 10 June to Frank Rijsdyk's (ship scrapping yard).

References

Bibliography

* * * * * Rentfrow, James C. ''Home Squadron: The U.S. Navy on the North Atlantic Station.'' Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2014. * Spears, John Randolph. ''A History of the United States Navy.'' New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1908. * ''The White Squadron''. Toledo, Ohio: Woolson Spice Co., 1891. * ''The White Squadron: Armed Cruisers, U.S.N.'' New York: International Art Publ. Co, 1800. * ''The White Squadron of the U S Navy.'' New York: James Clarke Publisher, 1894.

External links

Photo gallery of USS ''Atlanta'' at NavSource.orgLetterbook of the U.S.S. Atlanta, 1889-1893, MS 106
held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy {{DEFAULTSORT:Atlanta (1884) 1884 ships Ships built by the Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works Protected cruisers of the United States Navy