Attack of the Union fleet, April 24, 1862; Fort Jackson at left and Fort St. Philip is shown at right
| |
History | |
---|---|
Launched | 1845 |
Reclassified | 1862 |
Fate | Refitted as a ram |
General characteristics | |
Type | Sidewheel tug |
Propulsion | Steam engine, side-wheels |
History | |
Name | General Lovell |
Namesake | Mansfield Lovell |
Commissioned | March 1862 |
Fate | Abandoned by crew and burned, 24 April 1862 |
General characteristics | |
Type | Sidewheel ram |
Propulsion | Steam engine, side-wheels |
Complement | 40–50 |
Armament | 1 × 32-pounder gun |
Service record | |
Part of: | River Defense Fleet |
Operations: | Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Philip |
CSS General Lovell was a cotton-clad sidewheel ram of the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War.
Originally built in 1845 as a steam tug in Cincinnati, the ship was purchased for service in the Confederacy and refitted at New Orleans, where she was converted into a cottonclad ram with cotton bales sandwiched between double pine bulkheads to protect her boilers and machinery and iron casing over her bow.[1] She was recommissioned in March 1862, and named for Major General Mansfield Lovell, commander of the defenses of New Orleans.[2] She became part of the River Defense Fleet, under the overall command of Captain J. E. Montgomery, at New Orleans.[3]