Mansfield Lovell

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Mansfield Lovell (October 20, 1822 – June 1, 1884) was a major general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was roundly criticized in Southern newspapers for allowing Union forces to capture the city of New Orleans.

Mansfield Lovell was born in the District of Columbia. His father was Joseph Lovell, the eighth Surgeon General of the United States Army. His grandfather, James S. Lovell, was an active member of the Whig organization in Boston before the American Revolution, and was a member of the Continental Congress from 1777 to 1782. He was one of the prime movers in the scheme to supplant General George Washington as commander-in-chief by General Horatio Gates and an original member of the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati.

Lovell graduated from West Point in 1842 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. artillery. He was wounded and brevetted in the Mexican-American War. After serving on a variety of minor posts, he resigned from the army in 1854 and moved to New York City, where he engaged in business and local civil service, serving on the city street commission.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, Lovell left New York City and enlisted in the Confederate army. He was appointed as a major general on October 7, 1861. As commander of New Orleans, he was highly criticized for evacuating the city and letting Admiral David Farragut capture it, even though he had not sufficient men or material to repulse the Union forces. He then commanded an infantry division at the Battle of Corinth in Mississippi. He was later relieved of command as a consequence of his poor performance at New Orleans. Stung by this reprimand, he demanded a court of inquiry, which met in April 1863 and declared him innocent of charges of incompetence. However, he was not given any assignments for the rest of the Civil War.

Lovell returned to New York City following the war and resumed his career as a civil engineer. He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx in New York City.