USS Atlanta was a protected cruiser 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 Chester, Pennsylvania by Delaware River Iron Ship Building and Engine Works; launched on 9 October 1884; sponsored by Miss Jessie Lincoln, the daughter of Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln and granddaughter of President Abraham Lincoln; and commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 19 July 1886, Captain Francis M. Bunce in command.
Design and construction
thumb|left|6 inch (152 mm) gun on Atlanta.
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 Chester, Pennsylvania. However, when Secretary of the Navy 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.
As-built armament included two /30 caliber Mark 1 guns, six /30 caliber Mark 2 guns, two 6-pounder () rapid fire guns, two 3-pounder () Hotchkiss revolving cannon, two 1-pounder () Hotchkiss revolving cannon, and two .45 caliber (11.4 mm) Gatling guns.
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.
The as-built engineering plant included eight coal-fired cylindrical fire-tube boilers producing steam and a horizontal compound engine producing driving one shaft.
Refit
In 1897–1899 Atlanta received a new triple-expansion steam engine of and the 6-inch guns were converted to rapid firing with brass case ammunition replacing powder bags.