Their American-supplied guns inspired a proposed set of American Civil War names: Grant, Lee, Farragut, and Jackson, with Farragut intended as class leader. The United States still claimed neutrality, so openly commemorating American commanders on British warships was diplomatically awkward in 1915. First Sea Lord Winston Churchill's involvement may explain the romantic preference for famous generals, although Union naval commanders would have fit the monitors' role more closely. The Civil War's river fighting, blockades, bombardments, and troop landings made its naval figures apt names for shallow-draft support ships.
Notable Point · 10:31-16:00
American neutrality changed the monitors' proposed names
Plans to name the four monitors for Grant, Lee, Farragut, and Jackson were abandoned while the United States still claimed neutrality.