Burt-Stark House / Jefferson Davis' Flight - Abbeville, SC
Posted by: 
jhuoni
N 34° 10.826 W 082° 22.907
17S E 372660 N 3783025
Double sided marker with details of Jefferson Davis' (President of the Confederacy) final travels through South Carolina.
Waymark Code: WMMD2Z
Location: South Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 09/02/2014
Views: 5
Burt-Stark House
When Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, left Richmond after its fall in April 1865, he traveled south, trying to reach and rally the remnants of his army. On May 2, he spent the night at the home of Col. Armistead Burt. In 1971, Burt’s grand-niece Mary Stark Davis gave this historic house and all its furnishings to Abbeville's Historic Preservation Commission.
Jefferson Davis’s Flight
Here, at the home of Colonel Burt, President Jefferson Davis held the last Confederate Council of War on May 2, 1865. He met with Secretary of War Breckenridge, Gen. Braxton Bragg, and 5 brigade generals; all agreed the only hope was for Davis to elude nearby U.S. cavalry and escape west. Though Davis passed safely through South Carolina, he was seized in Georgia on May 10th.
The Burt-Stark House is located just south of downtown Abbeville. It is in the "Y" of Highway 20, Greenville Street and Hwy 71. Tours are available for the cost of $10 per person, Monday - Thursday BY APPOINTMENT ONLY and Friday and Saturday 1:30 to 4:30. Call 864-366-0166 for more details.