CSS Colonel Lovell, a 521-ton side-wheel steamer, was built at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1845. Under the name Hercules, she was taken over by the Confederacy at New Orleans in 1861, converted to a "cottonclad" ram and renamed Colonel Lovell. As part of the River Defense Fleet, she took part in naval actions off Fort Pillow, Tennessee, on 10 May 1862, and Memphis on 6 June. In the latter battle, Colonel Lovell suffered engine failure and was rammed twice by Federal warships, causing her to sink in deep water.