Gen. Benjamin Ward Avent  1812 - 1878

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• Title	Gen.
  Birth	1812	Greensville Co., Virginia
  Sex	Male
  Died	12 Sep 1878	Memphis, TN
  Buried	Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, TN, South Grove 149, #5
  Person ID	I1899	avefamily
  Last Modified	18 Nov 2008
  Father	James Monroe Avent, b. 9 Jan 1788, Sussex Co., VA
  Mother	Mary "Polly" Avent, b. 23 July 1787, Aventon, Nash Co., NC
  Family ID	F461	Group Sheet
  Family	Nancy Lytle, b. 1816
  Married	9 Sep 1835
  Children	1. Mary Tabitha Avent, b. 1836, TN   2. Ellen Avent, b. 1839, TN   3. William Lytle Avent, b. 9 Apr 1842, Rutherford Co., TN   4. Benjamin Avent, b. 1843, TN   5. John S. Avent, b. 1846, TN   6. Catherine Avent, b. 1849, TN   7. Matthew Avent, b. 1853, Rutherford Co., TN   8. James Avent, b. 1855, Rutherford Co., TN   9. Blanche Lytle Avent, b. 1859, TN
  Last Modified	18 Oct 2007
  Family ID	F585	Group Sheet

• Photos		Avent, Benjamin Ward (1812-1878) Confederate General, Surgeon-General, Army of the Tennessee, Medical Doctor. Source: History of Medicine in Rutherford County by Robert G. Ransom, M.D.

• Notes

  Died in the great yellow fever epidemic in Memphis, TN, in 1878 (said to be the worst yellow fever epidemic in American history). Rather than flee the city, as many did, he stayed behind to treat the sick and paid the price. The local newspaper wrote: "Dr. Avent, one of our best and oldest physicians, has paid the penalty of his devotion to duty. He died at his residence, 309 Vance St., September 12th." Physician and Surgeon General of the Army of Tennessee in CW. See 'Avents in American Wars' page for more. TN Historical Quarterly, vol 61: "...there was no difficulty in finding thoroughly qualified medical men to fill the positions of surgeons and assistant surgeons as rapidly as the regiments were organized. Dr. B.W. Avent of Murfreesboro, a man of ripe experience, great skill, and fine administrative powers was ppointed Surgeon General...Upon Dr. F's suggesting that Dr. B.W. Avent be left in charge of them (i.e., wounded men) the Gen. said "He is the man to leave with them..." ==================== A Dr. Reed, of the US Army Sanitary Commission, wrote in his May, 1863 report of "...Dr. Avent, their Medical Director, a surgeon of unusual intelligence...". ========================================== “Two Confederate Hospitals and their Patients: Atlanta to Opelika”, by Jack D. Welsh, p. 153 “Surgeon Benjamin Ward Avent. Born 1812, Petersburg, VA. Died 12 Sep 1878, Memphis, TN. M.D., Transylvania University, 1834. Commissioned Surgeon on 19 Jul 1861, and by 31 May 1863 was serving as a floater (assigned different duties). In charge of hospitals at Kingston, GA, 10 Jul 1863. Ordered to close Fairground Hospitals Nos. 1 and 2 on Feb 1865 at Opelika, AL." ========================= It is speculative that Benjamin Ward Avent was the son of this James Avent, though much evidence points to this. 1850 Rutherford Co. TN census shows 3 Avents born in VA: Jas., b. 1788 (which agrees with other info regarding James, son of John), Benjamin W. Avent, b. in VA in 1812, and Washington Avent, b. 1820 in VA. This Benjamin Ward Avent was a physician & so was very likely the same as the Gen. B. W. Avent who was surgeon-Gen. of the Army of Tennessee. That this B.W. Avent was related to Mary (Polly) Avent is likely due to the fact that Mary (Polly), daughter of William Avent and Sally Ward of Aventon, NC, had a brother named Benjamin Ward Avent, so Mary (Polly), wife of James, might easily have named a son the same. Date of marriage to Nancy Lytle comes from "Rutherford Co. Marriages": Avant, Benjamin W. & Lytle, Nancy Sept 9, 1835 Date of death is from an entry in the records of the Tenn. Med. Association. Birth is from census and is corroborated by the TMA record: 1: Tenn Med Assoc. 1979 Mar;72(3):194. Related Articles, Links Benjamin Ward Avent (1812-1878). [No authors listed] Publication Types: Biography Historical Article Personal Name as Subject: Avent BW PMID: 372680 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] ============ 1850 Rutherford Co., TN census: Benjamin W. Avent, 38, Physician, b. VA Nancy, 34, b. TN Mary T., 14 Ellen, 11 Benj., 7 John S., 4 Catherine, 1 ==== 1860 Rutherford Co., TN, Murfreesboro, census: B.W. Avent, 48, MD Nancy, 44 Ben, 15 John, 12 Cate, 11 Matt, 7 James, 5 Blanche, 1 =================== Unknown Confederate Dead State Historical Marker Located in the cemetery at Kingston, Ga. 34.230782°N, 84.946581°W (Text) UNKNOWN CONFEDERATE DEAD Here sleep, known but to God, 250 Confederate and two Federal soldiers, most of whom died of wounds, disease and sickness in the Confederate hospitals located here -- 1862-1864. These men were wounded in the battles of Perryville, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, and in the Dalton-Kingston Campaign. Surgeon B.W. Avent was in charge of these hospitals. Hospitals were moved to Atlanta in May of 1864 to avoid capture by Federals. These hospitals later used by the Federals. 008-40 GEORGIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION 1956 ==== The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Volume 32 Mrs. Blanche Lytle Avent Macrae. DAR ID Number: 31898 Born in Memphis, Tennessee. Wife of George Whthe Macrae. Descendant of Capt. William Lytle, of North Carolina. Daughter of Benjamin Ward Avent and Nancy Taylor Lytle, his wife. Granddaughter of John Lytle (1788-1841) and Tabitha Morton (1791-1817), his wife, m. 1811. Gr.-granddaughter of William Lytle and Ann Taylor, his wife, m. 1787. William Lytle, (1755-1829), served as lieutenant and captain in the North Carolina Continental Line. He was an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati of North Carolina. Also Nos. 15306, 25905, 28849. The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Volume 37 Mrs. Leila Morgan Murrell. DAR ID Number: 37087 Born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Wife of David Lindsay Murrell. Descendant of Capt. William Lytle. Daughter of Maj. Sam Winston Morgan and Mary Tabitha Avent, his wife. Granddaughter of Benjamin Ward Avent and Nancy Taylor Lytle, his wife. Gr.-granddaughter of John Lytle (1788-1841) and Tabitha Morton (1791-1817), his wife, m. 1811. Gr.-gr.-granddaughter of William Lytle and Nancy Taylor, his wife, m. 1787. William Lytle, (1753-1829), served as lieutenant and captain in the North Carolina Continental line. He was an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati of North Carolina. Also Nos. 15306, 25905, 28849, 31898. ==================== from Ancestry.com, "Public Member Stories", "familyhistorycrw": "Dr. Benjamin Ward Avent (1872-1878) was born near Petersburg, Virginia, May 19, 1812. When he was quite young, his parents moved to Limestone County, Alabama. He received his literary education at LaGrange College, Alabama. The family moved to Rutherford County, Tennessee in 1830. The eighteen year old Avent then began a preceptorship in medicine under Dr. Frederick E. Becton of Murfreesboro. Dr. Becton was a well-recognized practitioner having received his M.D. degree from the University of Maryland in 1823, and was a charter member of of the Medical Society of Tennessee. Avent attend lectures at the University of Pennsylvania and enrolled at Transylvania University attending the sessions of 1832-1833 and 1833-1834, receiving his M.D. degree from Transylvania on March 14, 1834. His graduate thesis was "Scarlantina." The young doctor Avent began his practice of medicine near Murfreesboro and he moved into Murfreesboro in 1840. For more of the medical history of Dr. Avent see, The History of Medicine in Rutherford County by Robert D. Ransom, M.D. Dr. Avent married Nancy Lytle of Rutherford County in 1835 and they had nine children. Dr Avent remained happily married to Nancy Lytle until his death in 1878. Nancy removed to Memphis and resided in the household of her daughter, Blanche Avent where she died at the age of 93. Sources: 1. Personal research 2. The History of Medicine in Rutherford County by Robert D. Ransom, M.D., p. 99."