James Battle Avirett
James Battle Avirett | |
---|---|
Born | March 12, 1835 |
Died | February 16, 1912 Cumberland, Maryland, U.S. | (aged 76)
Resting place | Winchester, Virginia, U.S. |
Alma mater | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
Children | John W. Avirett, Philip W. Avirett |
Parent(s) | John Alfred Averitt Serena Thomas |
James Battle Avirett (March 12, 1835 – February 16, 1912) was an American Confederate chaplain and author. He was the first chaplain commissioned to serve in the Confederate States Army in 1861.[1] His The Old Plantation: How We Lived in Great House and Cabin before the War, published in 1901 was a nostalgic description of life on a plantation in the Antebellum South. By the time of his death, he was "the last surviving Confederate chaplain."[2]
Early life
James Battle Avirett was born on March 12, 1835, in
Avirett attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1850 to 1852.[3] He was ordained as an Episcopal priest by Bishop William Meade in 1861.[3]
Career
Avirett was a priest of the Episcopal Church.[3] During the American Civil War of 1861–1865, he served as a chaplain in the Confederate States Army in Alabama, under General Turner Ashby.[2][5][6] He was the first chaplain to be commissioned to serve in the CSA in 1861.[1]
Avirett served as the president of the Dunbar Institute, an Episcopal female seminary in Winchester, Virginia from 1865 to 1871.[3] For the next twenty-five years, he was a priest in Sligo, North Carolina, Upper Marlboro and Silver Spring, Maryland,[5] followed by Waterville, New York.[3] He served as the rector of St Paul's Church Louisburg, North Carolina from 1894 to 1899.[7]
Avirett was the author of several books. As early as 1867, he wrote a memoir of General Turner Ashby, after he had given a speech about Ashby at the University of Virginia.[8] By 1897, he wrote two religious pamphlets.
Avirett published The Old Plantation: How We Lived in Great House and Cabin before the War in 1901.
Avirett was a regular contributor to the
Personal life
Avirett married Mary Louise Dunbar Williams of Winchester, Virginia, in 1862.
Death
Avirett died on February 16, 1912, in Cumberland, Maryland.[3][5] By the time of his death, he was the last surviving Confederate chaplain.[2] He was buried in Winchester, Virginia.[3]
Bibliography
- The Memoirs of General Turner Ashby and His Compeers (1867).
- Watchman, What of the Night? or The Causes Affecting Church Growth (1897).
- Who Was the Rebel ? (1897).
- The Old Plantation: How We Lived in Great House and Cabin before the War (1901).
References
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- ^
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Littleton, Tucker Reed. "Avirett, James Battle by Tucker Reed Littleton, 1979". NCPedia. State Library of North Carolina. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
- ^ ISBN 9780895871893. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
- ^
- ^
- ISBN 9780807131619. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
- JSTOR 27648653.
- ISBN 9780807129609. Retrieved December 26, 2015.