Joseph Goldsborough Bruff (October 2, 1804 – April 14, 1889) was an amateur artist and adventurer as well as a professional draftsman and cartographer.

After returning from California, Bruff worked as an architectural designer in the United States Department of the Treasury.

His father was a well-known physician and dentist, who invented and patented several dental equipment items, along with the coffee grinder.

Deciding to give up sea travels, he took a job as a draftsman at the Gosport Navy Yard in Norfolk, Virginia.

Feeling that he was underpaid, Bruff took a new drafting job with the United States Army at nearby Fortress Monroe, where he stayed for about two years.

He made hand-copied duplicates of original field maps delivered to the bureau by Army topographical engineers returning from their journeys in the West.

One of his most important projects was to make copies of all of the maps and drawing that were included in Captain John C. Frémont's report to Congress.

[3][5] As the leader of the expedition, Bruff purchased fourteen large wagons, mules, tents, armaments, and other supplies for the trek to California.

On 2 April 1849, he led the expedition's sixty-six men, all in matching uniforms, in a farewell parade through the streets of Washington.

He also made drawings of numerous less important hills, canyon, river crossings, and hot springs.

After arriving in the state, the expedition broke up, leaving Bruff to spend a very difficult winter in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

He then traveled around California's gold country, making many drawings of geographic landmarks, mining camps, and other interesting scenes.

[4][5][7][8] After returning to Washington, Bruff went to work as a draftsman in the office of the supervising architect in the United States Department of the Treasury.

[2][3][7] After his death, his writings were published in a two volume set of books titled Gold Rush: The Journals, Drawings, and Other Papers of J. Goldsborough Bruff.

The two volumes cover the period of 2 April 1849, when his California expedition left Washington, until 20 July 1851, when he returned to the city.