Armistead Burt Explained

Armistead Burt
State2:South Carolina
Term Start2:March 4, 1843
Term End2:March 3, 1853
Predecessor2:Francis W. Pickens
Successor2:James L. Orr
Office3:Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives
Term3:1838–1841
Term4:1834–1835
Birth Date:13 November 1802
Birth Place:Edgefield County, South Carolina
Party:Democratic
Profession:lawyer, planter

Armistead Burt (November 13, 1802 – October 30, 1883) was a planter, slaveholder and U.S. Representative from South Carolina.[1]

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 1883.He was interred in Episcopal Cemetery.

Notes and References

  1. News: Weil . Julie Zauzmer . More than 1,800 congressmen once enslaved Black people. This is who they were, and how they shaped the nation. . 5 May 2024 . . 10 January 2022. Database at