Five U. S. naval vessels have been named for Atlanta, Georgia. The first, a Confederate ironclad christened CSS Atlanta, was captured in 1863 and served in the United States Navy before being decommissioned in 1865. The second, a protected cruiser, launched in 1884 and was decommissioned later in 1912. U.S.S. Atlanta (CL-51), the third vessel, was an antiaircraft light cruiser commanded by Captain Samuel P. Jenkins and sponsored by Atlanta author, Margaret Mitchell. In 1942 the ship sank during the Battle of Guadalcanal. The fourth one (CL-104), commissioned 3 December 1944 and also sponsored by Mitchell, was a Cleveland-class light cruiser active during World War II in the Pacific campaigns. War bonds purchased by the city’s citizenry paid for the building of the cruiser which was recalled in 1949. Sponsored by Mrs. Sam Nunn, the fifth U.S.S. Atlanta (SSN-712), a Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine, was launched in 1980 and decommissioned in 1999.