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John Mercer Brooke-
In 1861, Brooke resigned from the U.S. Navy to join the Confederate Navy. He was involved in the conversion of the frigate USS
Merrimack to the Confederate ironclad, CSS
Virginia. He was also instrumental in the development of a rifled gun for the Navy that became known as the Brooke rifle. In 1862, he was promoted to commander, and in 1863, to Chief of the Confederate Navy's Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography, until the end of the war. He was also instrumental in the organization and establishment of the Confederate States Naval Academy.
source:
One of Brooke's inventions, a deep-sea sounding and sampling device, has been credited as a major development that enabled mapping of the deep sea floor and the laying of the Atlantic telegraph cable. Variants of his invention are still in use as the only practical way to bring up bottom samples from a surface vessel. He also apparently experimented with sonic sounding methods (later called sonar) although the state of technology was not sufficient for him to further develop these ideas.
One of his patents was granted to him in May, 1861, after he had resigned from the Navy and "went South." A friend of his kept the patent paperwork safe until after the war; although it's not known for sure, it seems very likely that Brooke's friend was either Union naval officer John Rodgers or Union naval officer S. Phillips Lee, both of whom had worked extensively with Brooke in surveying and scientific work before the war.
source:
http://civilwartalk.com/threads/john-mercer-brooke.105272/
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