McDonald L. "Don" Burbidge, 33°
155 Chandler Drive, Ladson, South Carolina, 29456-4864
photo0027@aol.com
Fragments of history form a portrait of Ill.
DeSaussure as an outstanding General, Freemason, and Charlestonian.
Wilmot
Gibbes DeSaussure was born on July 23, 1822, in Charleston,
South Carolina. His father, Chancellor Henry William DeSaussure,
was a well-respected local lawyer, and his son soon took a similarly
prominent role in Charleston society. Bro. DeSaussure was raised
a Mason on November 16, 1855, in Charleston's Union Kilwinning
Lodge No. 4 and was elected Worshipful Master in 1867. In 1876-1875,
when he served as Grand Master in South Carolina, he won recognition
of his services as the Grand Master, historian, and financial
agent of the Grand Lodge. In 1879, he was presented with a jewel
by the Grand Lodge for having served Freemasonry in South Carolina
with efficiency, honor, and distinction.
Ill. DeSaussure presided over all the Subordinate Bodies in
South Carolina. On May 5, 1874, in recognition of his many services
to the Order and his state, he was coroneted a 33° at Louisville,
Kentucky. On May 30, 1876, Sovereign Grand Commander Albert
Pike, 33°, appointed DeSaussure one of the two Active Members
of the Supreme Council at Washington, D.C., for South Carolina.
Regarding DeSaussure's military career, after the U. S. Army
evacuated Fort Moultrie in 1861, he was placed in charge of
the abandoned fortress. At the time of the bombardment of Fort
Sumter by Confederate military forces, he was in command of
artillery on Cummings Point. He later took command of the Fourth
Brigade, South Carolina Militia, and held this position to the
close of the War. He commanded the force of reserves, which
engaged in the defense of Charleston, and, after the resignation
of General States Rights Gist, DeSaussure was appointed Adjutant
General of South Carolina.
In a letter, General G. T. Beauregard (also a Mason), Commander
of the Southern Forces, made the following comments about Gen.
DeSaussure: "I feel much indebted to General DeSaussure
commanding on Sullivan's and Morris Islands, for his valuable
and gallant service, and the discretion he displayed in executing
the duties devolving on his responsible position."
As a military man, General DeSaussure always had a special
relation to the Society, or Order, of the Cincinnati which was
instituted by the officers of the Continental Line at the cantonment
on the Hudson River in May of 1783. General Washington's Chief
of Artillery, General and Brother Henry Knox, suggested a formation
of a military order. This order was to be comprised of officers
who would meet once a year so they might have the opportunity
of renewing old friendships.
The Society of Cincinnati was first established in Charleston,
South Carolina, on August 29, 1793, and the first elected President
was Major General William Moultrie, who was a distant relative
of Ill. James Moultrie, a founder of the Supreme Council, 33°,
S.J. Major General Moultrie held this office until his death
on September 29, 1805.
In an address he delivered before the Society of Cincinnati
on July 4, 1855, Brother DeSaussure provided a detailed report,
"The Siege of Charleston." The siege by the British
Armies started in February 1780. In his address, DeSaussure
included the story of Jacob Brawler and his 23 sons who served
under the famous General Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion.
At the end of the Revolutionary War, Jacob Brawler and 22 of
his 23 sons were killed or died while defending this country.
The one son who did survive came out of the war a cripple.
 |
Gravestone of Illustrious Wilmot G.
DeSaussure, 33°, in Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, South
Carolina Photo: Ill. McDonald
L. "Don" Burbidge, 33° |
On July 4, 1876, Ill. DeSaussure was elected the 10th President
of the Society of Cincinnati (his father was the 8th President)
in Charleston. Like the other nine Presidents of the Society
before him, Ill. DeSaussure held this office until his death.
In another speech he gave before the Society of Cincinnati in
1886, Ill. DeSaussure provided the names and units of the Confederate
Soldiers of Charleston as well as other valuable information.
Had it not been for Brother Wilmot, this information would have
been lost to history.
Ill. DeSaussure was a member of nearly every one of the useful
and charitable associations and institutions in Charleston,
and from 1848 to 1864, he was an active member of the South
Carolina Legislature. In 1886 when his health started to fail,
he was taken to Florida in the hope that the balmy weather would
restore him. During the last moments of his life on February
1, 1886, his two sons, Mr. H. A. DeSaussure and Dr. P. G. DeSaussure,
were by his bedside.
After his death, a telegram was sent to his friends and relatives
in Charleston announcing his death. The flags over the Chamber
of Commerce were promptly displayed at half-mast to let the
community know that a prominent Charleston citizen had passed
away. Charleston's News and Courier announced his death, and
21 of Charleston's most prominent societies, each noting Ill.
DeSaussure as an active member, expressed regrets at his passing.
In a rare move for Charleston, the prestigious St. Cecilia Society
postponed its annual banquet, scheduled for February 4, 1886,
in honor of General DeSaussure, their late President, who had
passed away a few days before in Florida.
Illustrious DeSaussure's remains, accompanied by his two sons
and relatives, were brought back to Charleston by train. His
funeral service was held at St. Philip's Church at 3:00 pm on
February 3, 1886, and conducted by Rev. John Johnson. At the
conclusion of the service, Ill. DeSaussure's casket was taken
to Magnolia Cemetery and interred in the family plot. His headstone,
pictured on the facing page, is a tribute to his lifelong leadership
in nearly every aspect of South Carolina's military, civic,
and fraternal life.
|
McDonald L.
Burbidge
was raised a Mason on November 19, 1975, and is currently
a member of Summerville Lodge No. 234, Summerville, S.C.,
the Scottish Rite Bodies of Charleston, S.C., and the Scottish
Rite Research Society. On February 14, 1976, he received
the 32°; on October 19, 1981, he was invested a K.C.C.H.;
and on October 30, 1999 he was coroneted a 33°. Ill.
Burbidge was strongly involved with the year 2001 celebration
of the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Scottish
Rite in Charleston and has had several articles and photographs
published in the Scottish Rite Journal since 1999.
He is currently the Historian for the Charleston Scottish
Rite Center and has been the photographer of the Valley
for the past 28 years. He and his wife, Kathryn, have two
children, Kelley who is a nursing student at Charleston
Southern University and Brad who is 18 years old and will
be attending college next year. |
