On May 19, 1780, Historian Thomas Campanella explains, “ a preternatural gloom settled upon the New England landscape, and by noon the sun had been all but blotted from the sky.” New England’s “Dark Day” was read as an omen, even, perhaps, as the biblical end of days. But the question has persisted for nearly two and a half centuries- what could have blotted out the Sun?
There was an entire class of Navy ships- some thirty vessels- named after Army Generals. The largely forgotten General G.O. Squier class transports did yeomans' work in an unsung role, and have an interesting history that deserves to be remembered.