When in the late summer of 1864 a force of some twelve thousand soldiers under the command of Confederate major general Sterling Price were sent to capture the state of Missouri for the Confederacy, it represented a real threat to the Union.
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.