Dr. W.B. Avent, one of the city's best and oldest physicians, paid the penalty of his devotion to duty. He died at his residence, 309 Vance Street, September 11, 1878.

A modest, unassuming gentleman, his worth was best known to those who know how rare a thing real scientific skill is. He was highly esteemed by the faculty not only of Memphis, but of the state and the surrounding states, and stood high with the people as an upright citizen. During the late civil war he held very high rank on the medical staff of the Confederate army, and in that position made for himself an enviable reputation as a medical expert.

Dr. Avent was appointed Surgeon General of the Provisional Army of Tennessee on May 10, 1861. He held this position until the Tennessee troops were formally turned over to the Confederacy. He was then appointed a surgeon in the Confederate States Army and served as medical director of the army corps of Gen. A. S. Johnson until the death of that commander. He then became the medical director of the army corps of Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and John C. Breckenridge which position he held until he was forced to exchange field for hospital duty as a result of an eye condition. He was then made post surgeon and served in the capacity until the close of the war. After the war, Dr. Avent returned to his family and practice in Murfreesboro.

Dr. Avent received an appointment to the chair of principles and practice of surgery at the Memphis Medical College in 1866, which he accepted. In May 1866, he moved his family to Memphis and upon arriving in Memphis entered into a partnership with Dr. Dudley D. Saunders. The firm of Avent and Saunders was well known and highly respected until its termination in 1878. When yellow fever attacked Memphis, Dr. Avent stayed on active duty, providing assistance wherever possible to combat the devastating epidemic. Sadly, he contacted the fever on September 8, 1878 and died on September 12, 1878, just a few days later. He was one of the forty-two physicians who died of yellow fever in Memphis.