John Henry Burroughs (October 1827 – 16 February 1891) was a naval engineer and

shipwright Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befor ...

who played an important role in the construction of the

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

ironclad warship An ironclad is a steam-propelled warship protected by iron or steel armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. T ...

s ''

CSS Virginia CSS ''Virginia'' was the first steam-powered ironclad warship built by the Confederate States Navy during the first year of the American Civil War; she was constructed as a casemate ironclad using the razéed (cut down) original lower hull an ...

'' (''Merrimack'') and '' CSS Richmond'', and who later served as Superintendent of the Gosport Naval Shipyard in

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

, while it was under occupation by

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

forces during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Early life and family

Burroughs's parents were from Stafford County, but at an early day moved to

Mathews County, Virginia Mathews County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,533. Its county seat is Mathews. Located on the Middle Peninsula, Mathews County is included in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport ...

, where Burroughs was born. His wife was from the "Eastern Shore of Virginia." He and his wife had 12 children.

Gosport Yard

Burroughs spent most of his career at the Gosport Yard (known as

Norfolk Naval Shipyard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...

after 1862). His skills required him to play an important role in

construction at the yard in 1861 and 1862. Yet, as a staunch and open

sympathizer, he was said to have spent the early part of the

under constant guard by

authorities. Burroughs is suspected of being responsible for secret leaks of information regarding the technical details and progress of the rebuilding of USS ''Merrimack'' and its transformation into the Confederate ironclad warship ''CSS Virginia''. At least some of this secret information may have been smuggled via a freed female slave named Mary Touvestre who traveled from Norfolk to the White House in Washington DC while obstensively visiting relatives in Northern Virginia. Burroughs is also suspected of being behind other leaks when he secretly traveled to

Fort Monroe Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...

to meet with Union forces there. Once

forces overran the

Yard The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.914 ...

in 1862, Burroughs was named Superintendent there.

Relatives

Burroughs was the nephew of lighthouse builder

Elzy Burroughs Elzy Burroughs (1771/77–1825) was an American stonemason, engineer, lighthouse builder and keeper. Elzy Burroughs was born and raised in Stafford County, Virginia. Elzy Burroughs' family leased and operated a sandstone quarry in the Aqu ...

. Burroughs's son, Samuel L. Burroughs, was

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

of Portsmouth, Norfolk County, Virginia.

References

*"Scientific American" Magazine *The Mariner's Museum, Newport News, Virginia *

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burroughs, John H. 1827 births 1891 deaths American shipwrights People of Virginia in the American Civil War People from Mathews County, Virginia Military personnel from Norfolk, Virginia