Charles Russell Lowell III (January 2, 1835 – October 20, 1864) was a railroad executive, foundryman, and General in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Lowell III graduated as the valedictorian from Harvard College in 1854, and worked in an iron mill in Trenton, New Jersey, for a few months in 1855.

During the winter of 1863–1864, he was in charge of the outer defenses of Washington, D.C., and was engaged in repelling the raid by Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal Early that reached the outskirts of the capital.

In February, 1864, near Vienna, Virginia Lowell ordered the drumhead execution of William E. "Pony" Ormsby, a deserter and traitor who fled to join Colonel John S. Mosby's (CSA) campaign.

Since he was unable to sign his new commission after his death, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton authorized an exception allowing the posthumous promotion to become official.

Upon hearing of his death, General George Armstrong Custer wept and Sheridan remarked "I do not think there was a quality which I could have added to Lowell.