John H. Burroughs

John Henry Burroughs (October 1827 – 16 February 1891)[1] was a naval engineer and shipwright who played an important role in the construction of the Confederate ironclad warships CSS Virginia (Merrimack) and CSS Richmond, and who later served as Superintendent of the Gosport Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia, while it was under occupation by Union forces during the American Civil War.

Yet, as a staunch and open Union sympathizer, he was said to have spent the early part of the American Civil War under constant guard by Confederate 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 to meet with Union forces there.