The article was published in Polish. Below is an English translation of its opening. Wersja polska
Early on the morning of 17 June 1863, CSS Atlanta entered Wassaw Sound to challenge two US Navy monitors. The clash that followed was one of the shortest and yet most decisive ironclad engagements of the Civil War. It tested not only the firepower and armour of the opposing ships – the outcome was decided just as much by human ambition and error.
Fingal Becomes Atlanta
On 12 November 1861, the steamer Fingal dropped anchor off Savannah. Her holds were filled with arms and ammunition for the Southern army. The £17,500 that Confederate agents had paid her previous owners – three Scottish gentlemen who diplomatically turned a blind eye to the identity of the buyers, entering in the register the laconic note “sold to foreigners” – proved a good investment. Launched in May 1861, Fingal had an iron hull 57 m long, 7.5 m in beam, with a draught of 4 m. Two engines of 120 indicated horsepower each, driving a single screw that could be raised when necessary, gave her 13 knots; auxiliary propulsion was provided by a brig (snow) rig. She could carry 352 tons of cargo.
