Moses Wood Chapter No. 469 United Daughters of the Confederacy visited Abbeville for its annual Spring tour.

Each year, the group selects an historic site to visit. After having lunch at Yoder's Restaurant, chapter members were treated to a guided tour of the Burk- Stark Mansion that was built in the 1830s by David Lesley, a planter, lawyer and Abbeville District Ordinary, or judge. The house is furnished with authentic antebellum pieces.

On May 2, 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis convened the last "council of war" with five brigade commanders including Generals John C. Breckinridge and Braxton Bragg at the Burk-Stark Mansion. In this house, the leaders finally convinced President Davis that his leadership was at an end and that both the war and the Confederate government were finished.

The Burk-Stark Mansion has many tales to share with its visitors and many antiques and artifacts that are a feast for the eyes.

History abounds in every nook and secret place of the house. Only several hundred yards from the Burk House is an equally historic spot which shares a kinship with the home.

A hill, known as Secession Hill since Nov. 22, 1860, was the location where a group of men gathered by invitation to discuss secession from the Union. According to local history, Secession Hill became known as the "Birthplace of the Confederacy," and five years later the Burk House became known as the "Deathbed of the Confederacy."