"Atlanta" was easily pulled free by the Union ships and she reached Port Royal under her own power. Not badly damaged, she was repaired and bought by the Union Navy. The prize money of $350,000 was shared between the crews of "Weehawken", "Nahant" and the gunboat , the only ships within signaling distance. The ship retained her name and was commissioned again on 2 February 1864, rearmed with a pair of , 150-pound Parrott rifles in the bow and stern and 6.4-inch, 100-pound Parrott rifles amidships. The 150-pound Parrott rifle weighed and was 17 calibers long. The 100-pounder weighed and was 20 calibers long. It fired a shell a distance of at an elevation of +25°. All four of her Brooke rifles are currently located in Willard Park in the Washington Navy Yard. "Atlanta" was assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and spent most of her time stationed up the James River where she could support operations against Richmond and defend against a sortie by the ironclads of the James River Squadron. On 21 May 1864, she and the gunboat fired on and dispersed Confederate cavalry that was attacking Fort Powhatan and she was deployed further upriver in February 1865 after the Battle of Trent's Reach to better blockade the Confederate ironclads at Richmond.