George Washington Avent  1839 - 1926

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• Birth	12 Jan 1839	Moore Co., NC
  Sex	Male
  Died	10 May 1926
  Buried	Jonesboro Cemetery, Lee Co., NC
  Person ID	I0253	avefamily
  Last Modified	29 Dec 2007
  Father	Joseph Avent, b. 10 Mar 1796, Chatham Co. N.C.
  Mother	Judith Rush, b. 1798
  Family ID	F085	Group Sheet
  Family	Martha Hannah Partridge, b. 26 Jul 1848
  Married	ABT. 1866
  Children	1. Frences Harper Avent, b. Oct 1867, Lick Creek, Moore Co., NC   2. Henry Avent, b. 1869, Lick Creek, Moore Co., NC > 3. John Joseph Avent, b. 21 Feb 1872, Harnett Co., NC   4. Bernice Avent, b. Abt 1874, Lick Creek, Moore Co., NC   5. Culbreth Avent, b. Abt 1876, Lick Creek, Moore Co., NC   6. Elizabeth Isabel Avent, b. Abt 1878, Lick Creek, Moore Co., NC   7. Elton Early Avent, b. 24 Jul 1879, Lick Creek, Moore Co., NC   8. George Hanna Avent, b. Oct 1884, Lick Creek, Moore Co., NC   9. Armaur Rondthaler Avent, b. 5 Jul 1890, Lick Creek, Moore Co., NC
  Last Modified	17 Jul 2006
  Family ID	F520	Group Sheet

• Photos		Avent, George W. (1839-1926) of Moore Co., NC. A veteran of the War Between the States (Capt., Co. D, 35th NC) and a member of the "Immortal 600". This was a group of CSA officers who became famous throughout the South after the War. They were POWs who were used as human shields by US forces and brutally treated throughout their confinement, yet they refused to take the Oath of Allegiance until after Lee's surrender. They were widely seen as an example of men choosing "death before dishonor". Photo from the book 'To Bear Arms', by Martha Harrington, an excellent study of Chatham Co. during the Civil War.

• Notes

  Capt., Co., D, 35th NC Infantry in WBTS. Captured June 17, 1864, sent to Ft. Delaware POW camp. Became one of the "Immortal 600", in which Confederate POW's were used as human shields by the Union army: "On August 20, 1864, a chosen group of 600 Confederate officers left Fort Delaware as prisoners of war, bound for the Union Army base at Hilton Head, S.C. Their purpose--to be placed in a stockade in front of the Union batteries at the siege of Charleston. The 600 were landed on Morris Island, at the mouth of Charleston Harbor. Here they remained in an open 1 1/2 acre pen, under the shelling of friendly artillery fire. Three died on the starvation rations issued as a retaliation for the conditions of Union prisoners at Andersonville, Ga. and Salisbury, N.C. On October 21, after 45 days under fire, the weakened survivors were removed to Fort Pulaski, Ga. Here they were crowded into the cold damp casements of the fort. On November 19 197 of the men were sent back to Hilton Head to relieve the overcrowding. A "retaliation ration" of 10 ounces of moldy cornmeal and soured onion pickles was the only food given for 42 days. Thirteen men died at Fort Pulaski and five at Hilton Head. The remaining members of the Immortal Six-Hundred were returned to Fort Delaware on March 12, 1865, where an additional twenty-five died. They became famous throughout the South for their adherence to principle, refusing to take the Oath of Allegiance under such adverse circumstances, choosing "death before dishonor"." Photo of him from 'To Bear Arms' by Martha Harrington. (An excellent resource on Chatham Co., NC, genealogy.) 1900 Moore Co. Census shows: George W. Avent, b. 1839 (61) wife Martha H., b. 1846 (53) children: Fannie, b. 1867 (32) Lizzie B., b. 1877 (22) Geo. , b. 1883 (16) Arma, b. 1890 (9) children of GW and Martha P: Bernice AVENT b: Abt 1874 Frances Harper AVENT b: Oct 1867 in Lick Creek, Moore, North Carolina Henry AVENT b: 1869 in Lick Creek, Moore, North Carolina John Joseph AVENT b: 21 Feb 1872 in , Harnett, North Carolina Culbreth AVENT b: Abt 1876 in Lick Creek, Moore, North Carolina Elizabeth Isabel AVENT b: Abt 1878 in Lick Creek, Moore, North Carolina Elton Earley AVENT b: 24 Jul 1879 in Lick Creek, Moore, North Carolina George Hanna AVENT b: Oct 1884 in Lick Creek, Moore, North Carolina Armaur Rondthaler AVENT 1890-1958 Martha Partridge died 1936 in Moore Co. , NC. ======== George Washington Avent was born 12 Jan 1839 in Moore Co., NC and died 10 May 1926. He and wife Martha are buried in Jonesboro Cem., Lee Co., NC, and they have headstones, which read as follows: AVENT MARTHA PARTRIDGE 1846 1936 w/o George W. Avent AVENT DOUBLE STONE AVENT GEORGE W. 1839 1926 h/o Martha Partridge Avent AVENT DOUBLE STONE