At the end of the Civil War, with the Confederacy in shambles, Confederate President Jefferson Davis fled Richmond, Virginia, and headed south, stopping for a night in Abbeville, South Carolina at the home of his friend Armistead Burt. It was on May 2, 1865, in the front parlor of what is now known as the Burt-Stark Mansion that Jefferson Davis officially acknowledged the dissolution of the Confederate government, in the last official cabinet meeting. The Burt-Stark Mansion, also known as Armistead Burt House was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1992, specifically for being where Jefferson Davis had his last council of war. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burt-Stark_Mansion

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armistead_Burt

Armistead Burt (November 13, 1802 – October 30, 1883) was a U.S. Representative from South Carolina.

Born at Clouds Creek, near Edgefield, Edgefield County, South Carolina, Burt moved with his parents to Pendleton, South Carolina. One of his brothers was future Civil War officer Erasmus Burt. He completed preparatory studies. He studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1823 and practiced in Pendleton. He moved to Abbeville, South Carolina, in 1828 and continued the practice of law. He also engaged in agricultural pursuits. He served as member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1834 to 1835, and 1838-1841.

Burt was elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-eighth and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1843-March 3, 1853). He served as chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs (Thirty-first and Thirty-second Congresses). He served as Speaker pro tempore of the House of Representatives during the absence of Speaker Winthrop in 1848. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1852. He resumed the practice of law in Abbeville. He served as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1868. He died in Abbeville, South Carolina, October 30, 1883. He was interred in Episcopal Cemetery.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7187932&ref=wvr

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https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/burt-armistead/

Lawyer, congressman. Burt was born in Edgefield District on November 13, 1802, the oldest of nine children of Francis Burt, a Revolutionary War veteran from Virginia, and Katherine Miles of Beaufort District. In 1807 the family moved to Pendleton District, where Burt attended Pendleton Academy before preparing for a career in law. He was admitted to the bar in 1823.

In 1828 Burt married Martha Catherine Calhoun of Abbeville District, the daughter of John C. Calhoun’s older brother William. The couple moved to Abbeville, where Burt built his law practice. Burt first knew his wife’s famous uncle as a Pendleton neighbor and eventually became his confidant and protégé. He supported Calhoun’s opposition to the 1828 “Tariff of Abominations” and was appointed secretary of the 1832 state convention, which passed the Ordinance of Nullification, which declared the federal tariff null and void in South Carolina.

Burt represented Abbeville District in the General Assembly for three terms (1834–1835, 1838–1839, 1840–1841). He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1842 and took his seat in Congress in March 1843. He sat in Congress for ten years, serving on the Judiciary Committee and as chair of the Military Affairs Committee from 1849 to 1853. Burt was an accepted spokesman in the House for Calhoun’s prosouthern policy, particularly preserving states’ rights, reducing tariffs, and maintaining the balance between slave and free states as the country expanded into the Western territories. He helped care for Calhoun during his last illness in 1850.

In 1853 Burt left Congress and returned to Abbeville District to supervise Orange Hill, his thriving plantation near the Savannah River. He also participated in local politics, voicing a moderate approach to secession. He urged that South Carolina should act only in cooperation with other southern states. In 1858 Burt moved to the town of Abbeville to focus on his law practice. During the Civil War he supervised enlistments and was custodian for the property and affairs of local soldiers.

In April 1865 Confederate First Lady Varina Howell Davis and her family stayed in the Burt home for twelve days after they fled Richmond. They left Abbeville two days before Jefferson Davis, Secretary of War John C. Breckinridge, and the Confederacy’s senior military advisers arrived. On May 2, 1865, at Burt’s house, the leaders held their final council of war. On advice from his advisers, Davis agreed that further resistance was impossible and that the Confederate cause was lost.

After the war Burt was selected to draft the state’s “Black Codes,” which white South Carolinians used to regulate the labor and movements of former slaves. During Reconstruction he continued his Abbeville law practice while participating in the movement to discredit and remove the state’s Republican leadership. In 1868 Burt served as president of the first Convention of South Carolina Democratic Clubs and the state Democratic Convention, as well as a delegate to the national Democratic Convention. Burt participated in the Taxpayers’ Conventions of 1871 and 1874, preparing reports detailing corruption within state government. He also supported Wade Hampton’s 1876 campaign for governor. Burt died in his law office on October 30, 1883. He was buried in Trinity Episcopal Cemetery in Abbeville.

U.S. Congressman. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1823 and practiced law in Abbeville, South Carolina. He also engaged in agricultural pursuits and was a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, (1834-35, 38-41). In 1843, he was elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-eighth Congress and to the next four succeeding Congresses, serving until 1853. Not a candidate for re-nomination, he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1868 and practiced law until his death at age 80.* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Aug 12 2024, 19:07:12 UTC