Mansfield Lovell papers, 1835-1886, bulk 1862-1865

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Summary

Creators:
Lovell, Mansfield, 1822-1884
Abstract:
A collection of material related to the life and military career of Confederate general Mansfield Lovell.
Extent:
12 Linear Feet (10 boxes and 9 volumes )
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Mansfield Lovell papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

A collection of 422 items from 1835 to 1886, it consists of military, personal, and family papers of Mansfield Lovell. The bulk of the collection consists of correspondence, dispatches, communications, reports, and other military records accumulated by Lovell during his military career, particularly his command of Department No. 1. Correspondents include Judah P. Benjamin, Johnson K. Duncan, Joseph E. Johnston, and others. Also included are Lovell's letter books, special and general order books, and items relating to Lovell's Court of Inquiry. The collection also includes a group of manuscripts dealing with Lovell's Mexican War experience, including his journals from 1848 to 1849, correspondence, memoranda, and other items. Personal and family papers include letters to Mansfield Lovell from his brother Joseph Lovell written from Yale, Williams College, Poughkeepsie Collegiate School, and elsewhere from 1836 to 1847, Lovell's valedictory address at West Point, notes on travel in Virginia, New York, and Canada from 1842 to 1843, correspondence between Mansfield Lovell and Emily Plympton Lovell from 1862 to 1863, and miscellaneous papers dealing with the family property.

Biographical / historical:

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.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Parker Haydon Company, April 1934.
Processing information:

Processed by Huntington Library Staff, circa 1920. In 2020, Gayle Richardson created the finding aid derived from a legacy summary report.

Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

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.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Mansfield Lovell papers, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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