Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online: "Old Navy" Ship Photo Archive

USS Atlanta (I)
ex
 CSS Atlanta (1862 - 1863)

Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons

Civil War Medal
Iron-clad Ram:
  • Built as an iron-hulled, schooner-rigged, screw steamer at Glasgow, Scotland, by James and George Thompson in the Clyde Bank Iron Shipyard
  • Completed as SS Fingal early in 1861, employed by Hutcheson's West Highland Service between Glasgow and other Scottish ports
  • Purchased by James D. Bulloch in September 1861 as for service as Confederate blockade runner
  • SS Fingal successfully ran the blockade at Savannah, GA., 12 November 1862
  • Taken into the Confederate Navy at Savannah and converted to an Iron-clad Ram in 1862
  • Converted for naval service by Asa & Nasa Tift, Savannah, GA. cutting her down to the waterline and adding an armored deck which projected 6' beyond the hull with a casemate on top
  • Surrendered to USS Weehawken, 17 June 1863, at Wassaw Sound, GA. after attempting to run the Union blockade at Savannah, GA.
  • Placed in temporary commission as USS Atlanta, 26 September 1863, at Port Royal S.C. after repairs
  • Decommissioned and condemned by the prize court at Philadelphia
  • Repaired at the Philadelphia Navy Yard
  • Re-commissioned USS Atlanta, 2 February 1864, Act. LT. Thomas J. Woodward in command
  • Atlanta was assigned to the James River Flotilla of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron.
  • Decommissioned, 21 June 1865, and placed in reserve
  • Sold at auction, 4 May 1869, at the Philadelphia Navy Yard to Sam Ward for $25,000
  • Subsequently delivered to representatives of Haiti, 8 December 1869, by Sydney Oaksmith, a lawyer who had received an advance of $50,000 on her purchase price of $260,000
  • The ship was briefly seized by the Customs Service, possibly for violations of neutrality laws as she had just loaded four large guns and a number of recruits for the forces of Sylvain Salnave, President of Haiti, who was embroiled in a civil war
  • Atlanta was released and sailed for Port-au-Prince three days later
  • The ship broke down in Delaware Bay and had to put in at Chester, PA. for repairs
  • Sold to government of Haiti, 4 May 1869, renamed Triumph she departed Chester, 18 December 1869
  • Final Disposition, vanished en route to Haiti, apparently sinking with the loss of all hands, either off Cape Hatteras or the Delaware Capes
    Specifications:
    Displacement 1,006 t.
    Length 204'
    Beam 41'
    Depth of Hold 17'
    Draft 15' 9"
    Armor
    Casemate 4"
    Deck .5"
    Hull 2"
    Pilothouse 4"
    Speed 13 kts
    Complement 162
    Armament
    two 7" Single Banded Brooke rifles one mounted fore and one aft
    two 150-pdr rifles
    two 100-pdr smoothbores
    Propulsion
    Screw Steamer
    two vertical direct-acting engines (39" x 2' 6")
    one boiler
    three propellers
    Ironclad Ram
    two vertical direct-acting engines
    one boiler
    one propeller
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    CSS Atlanta
    Atlanta 84k Sepia wash drawing by R.G. Skerrett, 1901 of CSS Atlanta. Courtesy of the Navy Art Collection, Washington, DC.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 57819    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Atlanta
    098629118    		 79k CSS Atlanta at Carson's Bluff, Savannah, GA., 1863.
    Sketch Print from a 1863 Frank Leslie's newspaper.    		 Tommy Trampp
    Atlanta 137k Phototype by F. Gutekunst, Philadelphia, PA., circa the later 19th Century, depicting the capture of CSS Atlanta (at left) by USS Weehawken, in Wassaw Sound, Georgia, 17 June 1863.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 58896    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Atlanta 123k An 1898 PRINT OF the Capture of the Confederate Ram CSS Atlanta by the monitor USS Weehawken at Wassaw Sound, GA., 17 June 1863.
    A print from "OFFICIAL AND ILLUSTRATED WAR RECORD" BY GENERAL MARCUS J. WRIGHT, COMMISSIONER OF WAR DEPARTMENT", 1898.    		 Tommy Trampp
    Atlanta 99k Line engraving published in "Harper's Weekly", 1866, depicting the former Confederate ironclad CSS Atlanta.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 61429.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Atlanta 160k General plan of CSS Atlanta. From "History of the Confederate States Navy" by J. Thomas Scharf. Tommy Trampp
    Atlanta 137k Confederate Navy and Army Officers photographed at Fort Warren, Boston Harbor, Massachusetts, while they were prisoners of war, circa 1863-1864. All, or nearly all, of the Navy officers had been captured with CSS Atlanta and CSS Tacony in June 1863, were paroled in September 1864 and exchanged in October 1864. Those present are identified as (apparently from left to right):
    Acting Master Thomas L. Wragg (of the Atlanta);
    Lieutenant Moses, CSA;
    Acting Gunner Thomas B. Travers (Atlanta);
    1st Assistant Engineer William T. Morrill (Atlanta);
    Acting 2nd Assistant Engineer Leslie G. King (Atlanta);
    Acting Master's Mate J.B. Beville; (LOL Prints and Photos Div. digital ID ppmsca.38006)
    Pilot Thomas L. Hernandez (Atlanta);
    Acting Midshipman James A. Peters (Atlanta);
    Captain Underwood, CSA;
    Major Boland, CSA;
    2nd Assistant Engineer Eugene H. Brown (Tacony);
    2nd Assistant Engineer Joseph S. West (Atlanta);
    Master George Henry Alldridge;
    Master's Mate John W. Billups (Tacony);
    Captain Saunders, CSA;
    Pilot James M. Fleetwood (Atlanta);
    Master's Mate William McBlair, Jr. (Atlanta);
    Reid Saunders, CSA;
    Lieutenant Alphonse Barbot (Atlanta);
    Pilot W.W. Austin (Atlanta);
    Second Lieutenant Charles W. Read (Tacony);
    Samuel Sterritt, CSA;
    Acting Midshipman John A.G. Williamson (Atlanta);
    First Lieutenant Joseph W. Alexander (Atlanta);
    Commander William A. Webb (Atlanta's Commanding Officer);
    Signal Officer Preston; The presence of two officers named Saunders has been reliably called into question.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 52793    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Atlanta 70k Cross section view of CSS Atlanta as she was surveyed after her capture by monitors USS Nahant and USS Weehawken in 1863. Photo taken from p. 290, Official records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion. ; Series I - Volume 14: South Atlantic Blockading Squadron (April 7, 1863 - September 30, 1863). Author unknown, from Warships of The Civil War Navies" by Paul H. Silverstone. Robert Hurst
    Atlanta 343k One of the single-banded 7" Brooke rifles captured aboard CSS Atlanta on display outside the US Navy Museum at the Washington Navy Yard. Robert Hurst
    USS Atlanta
    Atlanta 24k Water color painting by D. J. Kennedy (1816-1898) of the Confederate Ram Atlanta in the stream opposite the Philadelphia Navy Yard, 1863. Note the United States flag flying from the top and people standing on the deck. Image courtesy Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Robert Hurst
    Atlanta 846k USS Atlanta on the James River, VA., circa 1864-65. Note signal tower on the hill beyond the ship's bow.
    National Archives and Records Administration. Still Picture Records Section, Special Media Archives Services Division (NWCS-S). NARA record: 1135962 Courtesy of Matthew Brady. Brady National Photographic Art Gallery (Washington, D.C.)    		 Robert Hurst
    Atlanta 99k USS Atlanta on the James River, VA., circa 1864-65.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 57275.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Atlanta 122k Federal ironclads in Trent's Reach, James River, VA., photographed circa early 1865. Nearest ship is USS Saugus, with a mine sweeping "torpedo rake" attached to her bow. Next monitor astern is probably USS Sangamon. Visible just to the right of her is either USS Mahopac or USS Canonicus. Last two ships are USS Atlanta and USS Onondaga. Note the log boom across the river in the foreground and the signal tower atop the hill in the right distance. Photographed by the Matthew Brady organization.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # 111-B-80 Courtesy of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Atlanta 93k Federal ironclads in the James River, Virginia, photographed circa early 1865, probably in Trent's Reach. Ships are (from left to right): USS Saugus, USS Sangamon (probably), USS Atlanta and USS Onondaga. Photographed by the Matthew Brady organization.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # 111-B-1961 Courtesy of the US National Archives.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Atlanta 86k USS Atlanta ship's officers on the foredeck, while she was serving on the James River, VA., in 1864-65. Atlanta's armored casemate, forward rifled gun, and pilothouse are visible behind the officers.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 51956.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    Atlanta 386k USS Atlanta in dry dock after the Civil War at League Island Navy Yard, Philadelphia, PA. The armored deck projecting beyond the hull can be clearly seen. Photo courtesy Mariners Museum, Newport News, VA., from Warships of The Civil War Navies" by Paul H. Silverstone. Robert Hurst
    Atlanta 56k USS Atlanta, general plan, apparently drawn at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, PA. where Atlanta was laid up following the Civil War.
    US Naval History and Heritage Command photo # NH 76385.    		 US Naval History and Heritage Command
    CSS Atlanta / USS Atlanta (I)
    Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (DANFS)
    Commanding Officers
     CDR. Bulloch, James D. (Confederate Agent)31 July 1862CSS Atlanta
    02LT. McBlair, Charles H. CSN31 July 1862 - 16 February 1863 (Died)CSS Atlanta
    03CDR. Sinclair, George T. CSN18 February 1863CSS Atlanta
    04CDR. Sinclair, Arthur CSN18 February 1863 - 2 May 1863CSS Atlanta
    05CDR. Webb, William A. CSN2 May 1863 - 17 June 1863 (Captured)CSS Atlanta
    01ACT. VOL. LT. Woodward, Thomas J. USN2 February 1864 - 21 June 1865 (Decomm)USS Atlanta
    Courtesy Bill Gonyo
    Back To The Navsource Photo Archives Main Page Back To The Old Navy" Steam and Sail Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster.
    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 20 November 2020