Wilmot Gibbes de Saussure

Who was Wilmot Gibbes de Saussure?

Wilmot Gibbes de Saussure was a brigadier general in the South Carolina militia, who served along with the Confederate States Army in South Carolina at various times during the American Civil War. As a colonel, he led his regiment in the occupation of Fort Moultrie and the bombardment of Fort Sumter at the beginning of the war. He was appointed brigadier general as well as adjutant general and inspector general of South Carolina militia in 1862. He commanded part of the Charleston defenses during the Union siege of the city in 1863. He also led his men in opposition to Major General William T. Sherman's march through the Carolinas.

De Saussure served five two-year terms in the South Carolina General Assembly in 1848–1849, 1854–1857 and 1860–1863. He also served as South Carolina Secretary of the Treasury from the summer of 1861 to April 11, 1862. After the war, de Saussure was a prominent lawyer and was active in civic affairs. He wrote several works of South Carolina history and was a grand master of Freemasons and president of the Huguenot Society, the Cincinnati Society and other civic organizations.