Was David Averett Wounded at Tapp Field?

One of my great-great-great grandfathers, David Franklin Averett (1837-1927), was badly wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness in Virginia on 6 May 1864. The story I was told when growing up was that he was struck in the forehead by a bullet and was left for dead by his unit (Company A "Canty Rifles", 15th Alabama Volunteer Infantry Regiment). He later regained consciousness and, although temporarily blinded, followed the sound of the battle to try to find his unit. It is not clear whether he found his unit or was picked up by medics but he survived and convalesced at home in Alabama for the remainder of 1864.  If you look closely at his forehead in the following picture, which was taken much later in life, it is possible to see the indentation in his forehead. I was told that the skin covered the wound but that the bone did not grow back.

Another photo, which appears to have been taken even later, shows the mark much more clearly:

David Averett rejoined his unit at the beginning of 1865 and served until the surrender at Appomattox Court House in April 1865.

So the purpose of this post is to try to identify the location at the Battle of the Wilderness where he was wounded. The story of his wound may be significant to my own theory about his location when it happened.

Before beginning, we know that he volunteered for the "Canty Rifles" (Company A) in the 15th Alabama Volunteer Infantry, enrolling on 3 July 1861. I will post his records in this blog at a later date.  Col. William C. Oates commanded the 15th Alabama Infantry during the War Between the States and Oates later wrote a memoir entitled The War Between the Union and the Confederacy and Its Lost Opportunities, with a History of the 15th Alabama Regiment and the Forty-Eight Battles in Which It was Engaged and published it in 1905. On pp. 574-575 in the edition reprinted by Morningside Bookshop, Dayton, OH in 1985, Oates stated the following about "D.F. Averett":

D.F. Averett was 23 years old when enlisted. He was one of the best soldiers in his company, and participated in all the campaigns and nearly all the battles in which the regiment was engaged. At the Wilderness, May 6, 1864, he was severely wounded and disabled, and did not return to duty until about the 1st of 1865. He was promoted to corporal in 1862 and to first sergeant early in 1863, and remained at his post to the surrender at Appomattox.

(Oates devoted an entire chapter, pp. 342-353, to the participation of the 15th Alabama Infantry in the Battle of Wilderness.)

Location of the Tapp Field in the Battle of the Wilderness. Scanned from map obtained at the Wilderness Battlefield Exhibit Shelter

The 15th Alabama Infantry Regiment was part of Law's Brigade, commanded by Colonel (later Brigadier General) W.F. Perry. This brigade, in turn, was part of General James Longstreet's 1st Corps of three divisions.

It is my belief that David Franklin was shot and wounded somewhere in the vicinity of the western side of an open field called "Tapp Field", about mid-way up from the southern to the northern end of the field, probably near the Tapp Farmhouse (which no longer stands there).

Wilderness Battlefield National Park Sign at Tapp Field (Driving Tour No. 6)

Here is a view of the Tapp Farm (or Tapp Field) at the Wilderness Battlefield National Park near Fredericksburg, Virginia in the vicinity of (38.291395N -77.725629E). It is accessed by the public at the Driving Tour Stop No. 6 "Tapp Field" of the Wilderness Battlefield and this sign is located just off Hill-Ewell Drive near the top of the map.



The following is the view of the open field, looking south from the sign, just off Hill-Ewell Drive:

Tapp Farm at Wilderness Battlefield - looking south from Driving Tour Stop No 6

Longstreet's 1st Corps arrived arrived in the morning of 6 May 1864 at the southern end of the open Tapp Field and this was the first time his men had participated in the battle.

Features of Tapp Field at the Battle of the Wilderness

The Union Army was pushing south from the Plank Road, down through the dense foliage to the northwest of the cleared field, until they broke out into the clear area. They were met by Longstreet's Corps and were gradually pushed back over the course of the day until the "front" was essentially as far north as the vicinity of present-day Hill-Ewell Drive. But the Confederates also dug a trench as a fallback position across the middle of the Tapp field, from northwest to southeast, which is labeled in the present-day satellite view above. The remains of this trench still exist.

Longstreet's Line across the Tapp Field - dug in the evening of 6 May 1864:  Park Info Sign

The text of the sign reads:  "Confederate Earthworks. Longstreet's troops began erecting these infantry entrenchments after fighting ended on the evening of May 6 and improved them the following day. This was a reserved line, the main Confederate position being a few hundred yards in front of you along modern Hill-Ewell Drive..."

The next two pictures associated with these earthworks were taken by me at the Wilderness Battlefield National Park on 13 August 2011.

Longstreet's Line across the Tapp Field - dug in the evening of 6 May 1864

Longstreet's Line across the Tapp Field - dug in the evening of 6 May 1864:  zoomed-out view

The following photo was taken on 13 August 2011 of the National Park Service sign just to the south of the trench, showing the array of units making up Longstreet's group. It can be plainly seen that Law's Brigade was in the rear, moving up behind Benning's unit, and that the two of them appear to be located in what I interpret to be the vicinity of the Tapp farm house.

Array of units in Longstreet's attack to the north in the Tapp Field on the morning of 6 May 1864

This map of the cleared Tapp field as it existed in 1864 does not exactly match the current configuration shown in the 2011 Google map above, but it seems likely to me that Law's Brigade was, in fact, in the vicinity of the Tapp house.

My theory is that David Averett was hit soon after Longstreet entered the cleared Tapp field from the south and that, over an unknown amount of time on that day, the front moved gradually moved north from where he fell. When he regained consciousness, I think there's a chance the front may still have been in the cleared area of the Tapp field. Either way, he heard the sounds of the battle and walked forward, until he met either Confederate soldiers or medics. Due to the position of the Confederate earthworks at the end of the day, he almost certainly was still in the cleared field. But even if he was hit in the wooded area, the Confederates were advancing and he would have encountered Confederates as he walked forward. He was likely evacuated from the area at that time to be treated by a doctor. I consider it a miracle that he survived this wound. And it must have been a painful journey back to Alabama, probably in the back of a horse-drawn wagon and probably taking many days to accomplish.

To summarize my argument:

1. Averett's regiment, the 15th Alabama Infantry, was part of Law's Brigade in Longstreet's corps during the morning of 6 May 1864.
2. Longstreet did not participate in the fighting in the Battle of the Wilderness before that time.
3. Averett is known to have been wounded on 6 May.
4. The Confederate trench stretching from northwest to southeast across the Tapp field was dug at the end of the day on 6 May.
5. The battle ended that day. (It began on 5 May and resumed a few days later as the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse.)
6. Therefore, Averett must have been wounded somewhere in the vicinity of Tapp field because that was where his unit was on that day. Although an unknown amount of time elapsed between his wounding and recovery of consciousness, Confederate position and works (i.e., the trench) make it likely that he was wounded in the cleared area of the Tapp farm

As a postscript, Longstreet undertook a flanking maneuver around the east end of the Union position in the afternoon or evening, on his right and the Union left in the dense forest. He almost succeeded in destroying those Federal units but was wounded by friendly fire. By the time control was reasserted by his successor, the moment of opportunity had passed and the battle ended in stalemate. It resumed a few days later at the Spotsylvania Court House.

Finally, here is the relationship between David Averett (1837-1927) and my maternal grandfather William Obeyn "Jack" Jackson (1909-1988). Click to view full size.