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 is buried at Cedar Grove Cemetery, Portsmouth, Virginia. References Ironclads and Big Guns of the Confederacy : The Journal and Letters of John Mercer Brooke. By George M. Brooke Jr. (Editor) 1813 births 1893 deaths Confederate States Navy American Civil War industrialists