John L. Porter

John L. Porter, Chief Naval Constructor of the Confederate States Navy John Luke Porter (13 September 1813 – 4 December 1893) was a naval constructor for United States Navy and the Confederate States Navy.

Early life Porter was born in Portsmouth, Virginia in 1813. His mother was Frances Pritchard, daughter of Captain William Pritchard, an officer of the Revolutionary War. He had four brothers, two of whom were in shipbuilding business. Porter learned the art of shipbuilding from his father.

United States Navy In 1846 he was appointed acting constructor in United States Navy and superintended the building of the iron sloop-of-war USS Alleghany in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While in Pittsburgh he designed and submitted to the Navy Department plans and specifications for an ironclad warship, but his idea did not receive much attention in Washington. while Brooke was responsible for her iron plate and heavy ordnance and Williamson oversaw the ship's machinery.

Sometimes after the blockade of the Confederate ports in Summer 1861, Porter was appointed Chief Constructor in the Confederate States Navy and served in that capacity until the end of the war.

After the Confederates abandoned the Norfolk area in May 1862, Porter became a Naval Constructor at Richmond, Virginia and later at Wilmington, North Carolina. He was promoted to Chief Naval Constructor in January 1864 and served in that capacity to the end of the U.S. Civil War, designing many of the South's domestically-built warships.

Later life Following the conflict, Porter worked in civilian shipbuilding industry in Baltimore and ferry operations in Norfolk.

When Portsmouth, Virginia was first incorporated, Porter was elected president of the first City Council. he died in 1893

He is buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery, Portsmouth, Virginia.