Background
Mansfield Lovell (1822-1884) was a United States Civil War Confederate General. Lovell was
born in Washington, D.C., the son Dr. Joseph Lovell, the Surgeon General of the U.S. Army.
In 1842, Lovell graduated from West Point, and then served in the Mexican War; he married
Emily Plympton in 1849, and had several children. In 1854, Lovell resigned from the army and
worked at an iron works in Trenton, New Jersey; he later moved to New York and served as
Deputy Street Commissioner. In September 1861, he resigned this position to join the
Confederate Army. Appointed Major General on October 7, 1861, he was put in command of
Department No. 1, in charge of the defenses of New Orleans; after failing to prevent the
capture of New Orleans in April 1862, Lovell commanded a corps at Corinth, Mississippi,
October 3-4, 1862, and in December fought at Coffeeville, Mississippi. In December 1862,
Lovell was relieved of his command for the loss of New Orleans. Although a court of inquiry
that he had requested cleared him of any fault, Lovell's military career suffered, and his
loyalty to the Confederacy was questioned. He had no further command assignments but served
as Joseph E. Johnston's volunteer staff officer until the end of the war. After the war,
Lovell unsuccessfully attempted to operate a rice plantation in Georgia, and then returned
to New York where he worked as a civil engineer, and surveyor; he died June 1, 1884.
Restrictions
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from
or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The
responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining
necessary permissions rests with the researcher.