CSS Colonel Lovell

Not to be confused with CSS General Lovell.

History
Confederate States
Name	Colonel Lovell
Namesake	William S. Lovell
Launched	1843
Acquired	1862
Fate	Rammed and sunk, 6 June 1862
General characteristics
Type	Side-wheel cotton-clad ram
Tonnage	521 long tons (529 t)
Length	162 ft (49 m)
Beam	30 ft 10 in (9.40 m)
Draft	11 ft (3.4 m)
Propulsion	Steam engine, side paddle wheels
Complement	86
Armor	Two cannons, including an 8-inch smoothbore

CSS Colonel Lovell was a cottonclad ram operated by the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Built at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1843 as the towboat Hercules, the vessel was purchased by the Confederates in early 1862 and became part of the River Defense Fleet, which was operated by the Confederate States Army. Sent up the Mississippi River, Colonel Lovell was part of the Confederate fleet at the Battle of Plum Point Bend on May 10, 1862, but did not reach the site of the battle until it was almost over. On June 6, Colonel Lovell participated in the First Battle of Memphis. Early in the battle, Colonel Lovell was rammed by the United States Ram Fleet vessel USS Queen of the West with such force that the Confederate vessel nearly broke in two; she sank quickly with the loss of most of her crew.