Welcome To Parker Simpson
Perry. Born August 21, 2007, at 6:30 p.m.
Mother Paige and Father Jonathan Perry
shown below. Status of Grandpa Buddy and Great-Uncle Erie Is Unknown.
Great Aunt Betty Perry
holding her great niece Parker Simpson Perry.
Parker Simpson Perry with Father Jonathan and cousin Tom Perry.
The Free State Of Patrick: Patrick County Civil War Virginia Second Edition
Tom Perry is looking for more photos and letters for an updated second edition
of the book on Patrick County In The Civil War to be released in 2008. Send an
email to
freestateofpatrick@yahoo.com if you know of any letters or photos of Patrick
County Civil War soldiers that could be used.
Some Regional History
Bassett Historical Center Announces Symposium
The
Bassett Historical Center is pleased to announce a symposium on regional history
to be held March 1, 2008, from 9:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. at the Old Bassett High
School Auditorium now owned by EMI Imaging, who is providing the facility free
of charge in Bassett, Virginia. Proceeds from this event will go to the Bassett
Historical Center Building Fund. All speakers are coming free of charge to
support the project to expand the library. Advance tickets are $25 and $30 at
the door. Students and Senior Citizens are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.
The Bassett Historical Center has been called 'the best little
library in Virginia'. The Center has grown considerably since we merged with
Blue Ridge Regional Library in 1992. From that time through 2004, our patron
count increased 1359% over a period of 13 years. Since 1998 we have had an
increase of 125% per year. People from all 50 states and 9 foreign countries
have visited the Center. Our family files now number 9496, local history files
number 2518, and our books number 11,074. It is time for expansion of our
facility. We need to double our present size so that we will be able to accept
new collections that otherwise may be sent to another facility outside of our
immediate area. An estimate of $800,000 has been given to add 4195 square feet
to our existing building. Tax-deductible donations for memorials or honorariums
will be considered for shelving, furniture, display units and the large rooms
proposed
Speakers
Dr. Roland Parker Stephen Davis, Jr. is the Research Archaeologist and Associate Director of the Research Laboratories of Archaeology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, North Carolina, where is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Anthropology. His Education includes a Ph.D. University of Tennessee in Anthropology from 1986, M.A.
University of Calgary in Archaeology from 1976 and B.A. University of North Carolina in Anthropology from 1974. Davis has served on the North Carolina Archaeological Council,
Archaeological Society of North Carolina and the Society for American Archaeology. Among his published works include Excavating Occaneechi Town: Archaeology of an
Eighteenth-Century Indian Village in North Carolina, The Catawba Project: Research Problems and Initial Results, The Town Creek Photomosaic: Old Pictures in a New Light,
John Lawson and the Native Peoples of Carolina and The Eagle and the Poor House: Archaeological Investigations on the University of North Carolina Campus. He will be speaking on
Regional Native American History at the symposium.
Larry Hopkins is a Human Resource
Manager for Hanesbrands, Inc. at its Woolwine location in Patrick County, VA.
Born in Patrick County, he and his wife, Eva, have resided in the town of Stuart
for more than 30 years where they raised their two sons, Josh and Ryan. After
receiving his BA from Mars Hill College, Larry returned to Patrick County and
developed a strong interest in local history. In 1976, he made his first visit
to the Bassett Historical Center, where many hours were spent in the basement
doing family research and talking with Mrs. Shirley Bassett. Pursuing other
local interests and research eventually led to railroading, particularly the
Danville & Western Railway Company, better known locally as the “Dick n’
Willie”. Fascinated with its history, Larry has spent more than a decade
collecting facts, photos and memorabilia pertaining to this local legend. He
has shared this information on several occasions at local and state sponsored
events. In 2001, Larry was featured as the guest speaker for the annual meeting
of the Southern Railway Historical Society, and the following year did a
presentation at the 22nd Annual National Narrow Gauge Railroad
Convention held in Providence, Rhode Island. In recent years during his spare
time, he has been working on a book about the Danville & Western. Larry
currently serves as the Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Patrick
County Historical Society and Museum, and previously served on the Board of
Directors of the Mt. Airy Museum of Regional History in Mt. Airy, NC. He will
speak on the Danville and Western Railroad “The Dick and Willie” at the
symposium.
J. E. B. Stuart’s biographer Emory Thomas describes Tom Perry as "a fine and
generous gentleman who grew up near Laurel Hill, where Stuart grew up, has
founded J. E. B. Stuart Birthplace and attracted considerable interest in the
preservation of Laurel Hill. Thomas David Perry grew up in Ararat, Virginia, as
did "Jeb" Stuart. Tom graduated Patrick County High School in 1979 and Virginia
Tech in 1983, with a Bachelor’s Degree in history. Tom started the J. E. B.
Stuart Birthplace Preservation Trust in 1990 and the Free State Of Patrick
Internet History Group in 2005.The non-profit organization has preserved 75
acres of the Stuart property including the house site where James Ewell Brown
Stuart was born on February 6, 1833. Perry wrote the eight interpretive signs
about Laurel Hill’s history along with the Virginia Civil War Trails sign and
the new Virginia Historical Highway Marker in 2002. He spent many years
researching traveling all over the nation to find Stuart. Tom can be seen on
Virginia Public Television’s Forgotten Battlefields: The Civil War in Southwest
Virginia with his mentor noted Civil War Historian Dr. James I. Robertson, Jr.
Perry has begun a collection of papers relating to Stuart and Patrick County
history in the Special Collections Department of the Carol M. Newman Library at
Virginia Tech under the auspices of the Virginia Center For Civil War Studies.
He is the author of Ascent to Glory, The Genealogy of J. E. B. Stuart, The
Free State of Patrick: Patrick County Virginia in the Civil War, J. E. B.
Stuart’s Birthplace: The Stuart Family in America and the Laurel Hill Farm, and
Images of America: Patrick County Virginia. Tom credits Henry Wiencek’s book
on the Hairston family as leading him to the Bassett Historical Center. He will
be presenting his popular slide program on Civil War General J. E. B. Stuart.
Henry Wiencek is a prominent American historian and editor whose work has
encompassed the founding fathers, various topics relating to slavery, and the
Lego Company. In 1999, The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White,
which chronicles the history of the racially intertwined Hairston clan, won the
National Book Critics Circle Award for biography and autobiography. Wiencek
has come to be particularly associated with his work on Washington and slavery
as a result of his most recent book, An Imperfect God: George Washington, His
Slaves, and the Creation of America, which earned him the Los Angeles Times
Book Award for history. Henry wrote the seriesNational Geographic Guide to
Americas Great Houses, Virginia &
the Capital Region Smithsonian Guides, Smithsonian Guides to Historic America:
Southern New England - Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Old Houses,
Plantations of the Old South (Great American Homes), The Smithsonian
Guide to Historic America Southern New England, The Smithsonian Guide to
Historic America Southern New England, World of Lego Toys, The Lords of
Japan (Treasures of The World).
Born in Boston and educated at Yale, Henry lives with his wife,
writer Donna Lucey and their son, Henry in Virginia.
He has contributed articles to American
Heritage, American Legacy, Smithsonian Magazine, and
Connoisseur. In 2003, Wiencek was appointed to the board of the Library
of Virginia. He will speak on
The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White.
NORTH CAROLINA CIVIL WAR TRAILS MARKER DEDICATED IN SURRY
COUNTY
North Carolina
Civil War Trails Marker connects the site to similar places all over North
Carolina.
Virginia and Maryland have trail systems as well. The J. E. B. Stuart Birthplace
is part of the Virginia Trail System.
SILOAM - Marion Venable has a passion
for history. So it's easy to understand the energy and
enthusiasm she exuded Saturday morning as she talked
about her ancestors while standing on sacred
soil.Venable recounted how Union troops, under the
command of Gen. George Stoneman, came upon the Reeves
plantation in April 1865. Their intention - after a
Union commander was shot and killed as Confederate
soldiers held their ground during the Union raid through
the community - was to burn the homeplace. But the house
was spared when the Reeves family promised to give the
Union soldier a Christian burial. It's those kind of
stories - and the fact that the Reeves house was facing
demolition at one point - that served as a call to
action for Venable. A structure that dated back to the
mid 19th-century would have been lost had it not been
for Venable's effort, an area historian says. “This
place wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Marion,” said
Tom Perry of Patrick County, Va., best-known for his
work on the J.E.B. Stuart birthplace. “She deserves a
lot of credit for saving this place and getting people
involved.” On Saturday, Venable, along with other
volunteers and Reeves family members, dedicated a Civil
War marker, honoring the memory of Samuel Freeman and
Richard Reeves - a captain in the 28th regiment - the
first in the county to organize for the Civil War. Named
“The Surry County Regulators,” the troops began
enlisting in May 1861. Already, the site is one of just
18 in Surry County listed on the National Register of
Historic Places. Venable spoke about the thousands of
years that Native Americans toiled the soil before the
white man came to the area and the connection she feels
to her ancestors who bought the plantation in the early
1800s. “This is a very special place,” she said,
recounting how she got others to help save the historic
site when it was slated for demolition. “I said ‘We have
to do something. We have to buy it,'” Venable recalled.
That was in the 1980s. Today, the simple one-story while
building is a testament to generations past - a link to
days gone by and a reason to hold onto precious
memories, Venable said. “This is celebrating history
today,” Venable said. “We also know the value of
heritage tourism and we want to part of that as well.”
-Andy Matthews, Mount Airy News
Photos above from the program dedicating the North Carolina
Civil War Trails marker at Siloam, North Carolina show the interior of the
Reeves office that later became a barn and package store until Marion Venable
shown on the next row and members of the Reeves Family came together to save the
property that includes inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places for
the Native-America activity along the Yadkin River as well as the grave of a
Revolutionary War solider and the Civil War connection that got the marker
placed at the site. All this history at one spot.
Historic Rockford North Carolina
by Andy Matthews, Mount Airy News
ROCKFORD,
NORTH CAROLINA - Local preservationists have always said it would take a major
financial commitment to save some of the architectural treasures that adorn the
streets of this historic village.
Now those same historians and area residents are embarking on a major
fundraising drive they hope will pay for the restoration of two buildings and
the development of a downtown park. Members of the Rockford Preservation Society
(RPS) announced Saturday that they will try to raise $385,000 to restore the
Masonic Lodge, the York Tavern and develop a park at the site of the Grant-Burrus
Hotel, which burned in the early 1970s.
It's the preservation society's first capital campaign since it
was organized in 1972. Over the last 35 years, the preservation group has
depended on small grants, donations and volunteers to maintain Surry County's
original seat, which was incorporated in 1789 and was once home to such
distinguished residents and guests as Andrew Jackson, Aaron Burr and James K.
Polk.
Though the preservation group says it has restored Rockford's former post
office, the Dudley Glass store and the Rockford Methodist Church, there are
other historic structures that - unless they get major makeovers - could be
lost.
“While we have made steady progress over the past three decades, we recognize
that to finish the job this organization was created to do , our restoration
effort must have broad and sustained effort,” Preservation Society President
Hannah Holyfield said. “We sincerely hope the entire community will rally around
this campaign, which is being undertaken by folks who simply love Rockford and
want to honor the families who over the past 218 years have made it such a
special place.”
Holyfield said that the ultimate goal of the fundraising drive is a permanent
endowment to sustain the historic structures. The preservation group hopes to
work with descendants of former Rockford families on the fundraising effort.
“The campaign offers these descendants a real opportunity to preserve for future
generations of their families their heritage and their home,” Holyfield said.
“We are going to work with genealogical groups and with ancestry sites on the
Internet to track down descendants who may have only minimal knowledge about
their ancestors' lives here but would like to know more. We plan to contact
these descendants and ask them to help us restore the village and the,
literally, come back home.
Some critics of the preservation society, including one of the owners of the
Rockford General Store, Paul Carter, have criticized the preservation group for
spending money to build a small park on the grounds of the former Grant-Burrus
Hotel that burned in 1974.
Preservation group members maintain that the park is consistent with the
community's historic roots, adding it will provide visitors with a natural
setting to view downtown Rockford and enjoy walking trails.
Last month, Surry Commissioners rejected a $3,500 request by the county's park
and recreation department to pay for the park.
In conjunction with the fundraising kickoff Saturday, RPS unveiled its new Web
site, www.rememberrockford.com,
which lists historic properties, news events, and updates on the capital
campaign.
“We hope local volunteers will contact us. We will need lots of help combing the
Internet and spreading the word within extended families about what is going on
in Rockford,” Holyfield said. “And I hope our neighbors will join us at campaign
events over the next 12 to 18 months to welcome these descendants as, together,
we remember Rockford.”
Tom Perry spoke twice October 2 and
5 week to school children as part of the Mount Airy Museum's History Week.
On Tuesday, Perry spoke to 4th grade students from Shoals Elementary School
and on Friday to 8th graders from Mount Airy Middle School.
Perry has developed Teacher and
Reference Guides for the history at Laurel Hill, J. E. B. Stuart's
Birthplace. They can be accessed at
www.freestateofpatrick.com/Laurelhill.htm. Below talking to the Shoals
Elementary School kids storyteller Mike Lowe joined Tom for both days at the
museum.
Civil War Battlefield Preservation Act of 2007
We at the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) are
frequently asked, “What can I do to help?” The most
obvious answer is by becoming a member and donating
to our fundraising campaigns. Many of you have done
just that – and your enthusiasm and generosity have
helped us save nearly 25,000 acres nationwide.
But you can help in other ways as well – by donating
a few moments of your time!
This past summer, a bipartisan group of preservation
leaders in the U.S. House and Senate introduced the
“Civil War Battlefield Preservation Act of 2007.”
This landmark legislation reauthorizes the Civil War
Battlefield Preservation Program, the primary tool
that CWPT and other battlefield preservation groups
use to acquire historically significant battlefield
land.
The program provides federal matching grants that
have helped protect more than 14,000 acres of
hallowed ground throughout the nation – historic
shrines such as Antietam, Champion Hill,
Chancellorsville, Franklin , Manassas , Perryville
and Prairie Grove. Without this program, many lands
associated with these famous battlefields would have
fallen to the backhoe and bulldozer in the past
decade.
As is the case with many federal programs, the Civil
War Battlefield Preservation Program needs to be
reauthorized every few years. Passage of the Civil
War Battlefield Preservation Act (H.R. 2933 in the
House and S. 1921 in the Senate) will guarantee that
this extremely valuable preservation tool will
continue to be available to protect endangered
battlefield land through 2013.
TAKE ACTION
Get involved in the effort to pass the Civil War
Battlefield Preservation Act. Take a few moments to
contact your U.S. Senators and Representatives and
ask them to cosponsor the bill. You can call, write
or email them – whichever you prefer (although calls
and letters are always the most effective). If you
are a member of a Civil War roundtable or
battlefield friends group, consider setting up a
meeting with your local congressional office.
To make your involvement as quick and easy as
possible, CWPT has set up a special website about
the program at
www.battlefieldactivist.com. This website has
everything you need – sample phone scripts, sample
letters, and information on contacting your elected
officials in Washington . It also contains a list
of 22 Senators and 61 Representatives who have
already embraced this important legislation.
If it turns out your Senators or Representative have
already agreed to cosponsor the Civil War
Battlefield Preservation Act, please send them a
quick thank you (we provide sample text for that as
well). All too often, our elected officials only
hear from the public when they do something wrong –
please thank them for doing something so right.
If you have any questions, please reply to this
email or call CWPT at 1-800-298-7878 ext. 220. In
many cases, legislators won’t cosponsor bills unless
they hear from their constituents – so make sure
your voice is heard!
Thank you for your continued enthusiasm and support!
Best,
Jim Campi, Policy and Communications
Director
Civil War Preservation Trust
1331 H Street NW
Suite 1001
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 367-1861
http://www.civilwar.org
"Go West Young Man"
Tom Perry at the Kansas City KS Civil War Round Table with
Debra Coalson Goodrich of Ararat, now Topeka where she, husband Tom and daughter
Noel now reside. Left, Debbie at the grave of John Gratton at Fort Leavenworth,
Kansas. Gratton got into a fight with J. E. B. Stuart in the mess hall while at
West Point and was killed by Indians in 1854 at Fort Laramie in present day
Wyoming. Debbie is working on a dual biography of first ladies Mary Lincoln and
Varina Davis, the wives of U. S. President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate
President Jefferson Davis.
Patrick County Historian Tom Perry
spoke to three groups September 23-26 to over 300 people at the Civil War
Round Table meetings in Topeka and Kansas City, Kansas, and St. Louis,
Missouri. Tom was the guest of Patrick County native Debra Coalson Goodrich
and her husband Tom in Topeka. Perry spoke on J. E. B. Stuart's life and his
birthplace in Ararat, Patrick County, Virginia. Perry gives over 50 speeches
a year all over the country on Stuart and Patrick County history. Visit www.freestateofpatrick.com/coe
for more information
Visit Patrick County Native Debra
Coalson Goodrich's Blog in Kansas
She is co-author with her husband
Tom Goodrich of The Day Dixie Died: Southern Occupation 1865-1866 and is
working on a dual biography of Civil War first ladies Varina Davis and Mary
Todd Lincoln.
Tom Goodrich is the author of
several books relating to Kansas history including
The Darkest Dawn: Lincoln, Booth
and an American Tragedy
Black Flag: Guerilla Warfare on the
Western Border 1861-1865
Bloody Bill Anderson (with Albert
Casteel)
Scalp Dance: Indian War on the High
Plains 1865-1879
Images of America: Patrick County Virginia
On Sale October 29, 2007
Available Locally At
Ararat Grocery
Bassett
Historical Center
Family Pharmacy
Wanda's Estate Jewelry
Green Pastures Christian Books
Just Plain Country Store Booth #110
Mayberry Trading Post
Greenberry House
Poor Farmer's Market
Meadows Mercantile
Meadows of Dan Food Mart
Vesta Supply
Bassett
Historical Center
Pages
Bookstore
Mt Airy Museum of Regional History
Dickson's Records and Toys
Formed in 1790, Patrick County is named for the Commonwealth of Virginia’s first
governor, Patrick Henry, who lived in neighboring Henry County. Located along
the border of North Carolina where the Blue Ridge Mountains of the Appalachian
Range cross the state line, the “Free State of Patrick” is half piedmont and
half mountain plateau. This dividing geographic feature is reflected in the
mountain people of Scots-Irish and German descent along with English living
below the mountain heights. This divergent population produced tobacco magnate
R. J. Reynolds; Civil War general J. E. B. Stuart and World Series pitcher Brad
Clontz.
Thomas D. Perry grew up in Patrick County’s most historic community
of Ararat. He attended Patrick County High School and, in 1983, graduated from
Virginia Tech. Perry founded the J. E. B. Stuart Birthplace Preservation Trust,
Inc., in 1990. The nonprofit organization has preserved 75 acres of the Stuart
property, including the house site where James Ewell Brown Stuart was born on
February 6, 1833. Tom is the author of Ascent to Glory: The Genealogy of J. E.
B. Stuart; The Free State of Patrick: Patrick County, Virginia, in the Civil
War; and Stuart’s Birthplace: The History of the Laurel Hill Farm. Perry
produces a monthly e-mail newsletter about regional history from his Web site,
www.freestateofpatrick.com.
PATRICK COUNTY PHOTO BOOK RELEASE
NATIONALLY OCTOBER 29
Images of America Patrick County
Virginia will be released on Monday, October 29,
2007.
200 photographs from Patrick County's
history by Patrick County Historian Thomas D. Perry.
Patrick County
Historian Tom Perry, founder of the J. E. B. Stuart Birthplace and the Patrick
County Internet History Group (The Free State Of Patrick), is pleased to
announce the release of his latest book Images of America: Patrick County
Virginia by Arcadia Publishing on October 29, 2007. The book, Perry’s fourth
on Patrick County History and J. E. B. Stuart contains 200 photographs of
Patrick County and will retail for $19.99. This book will be the first
nationally released book on Patrick County, Virginia, and will be available at
chains such as Barnes and Noble and at websites such as www.amazon.com.
Perry will be at the
following places for book signings. Many of these book signings will raise
monies for several different groups including the Patrick County Library Book
Mobile Fund, Bassett Historical Center Building Fund, History Day Programs at
Collinsville Virginia Library and a special benefit program and signing for the
J. E. B. Stuart Birthplace on November 11 at the Star Theatre in Stuart,
Virginia.
BOOK SIGNINGS: Dates, Times and
Organizations To Benefit
November 17, Pages Bookstore, Mount Airy,
North Carolina 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.
November 17, Patrick County Music
Association, Rotary Field, Stuart 5 p.m.
November 18, History Day at Collinsville,
Virginia, Library 2:30-4 p.m.
(Proceeds to History Day Programs at
Collinsville Library)
December 1, Patrick County Library 10
a.m. – 2 p.m.
(Proceeds to Bookmobile Fund)
December 4 and 6 Victorian Christmas at
Reynolds Homestead 6 p.m.
December 8, Greenberry House (Meadows of
Dan) 10 a.m until...
December 15, Patrick County Music
Association, Rotary Field, Stuart
This book will be
available locally at the Just Plain Country Store in Stuart, Virginia, Booth#110 and from
www.freestateofpatrick.com. Perry’s other books Ascent To Glory: The
Genealogy of J. E. B. Stuart, The Free State Of Patrick: Patrick County Virginia
In The Civil War and Stuart’s Birthplace: The History of the Laurel Hill Farm
are available in soft cover from
www.freestateofpatrick.com/book.
History to come
to life at Stuart’s birthplace
By Geni Dowd
ARARAT, Va. — In the days before the Civil War, the streets of
Mount Airy were home to one of the men who would later play a key role in its
battles. Jeb Stuart, an instrumental general in the Confederate Army, was born
five miles from the Mount Airy city limits. Every October, during the first
weekend of the month, a Civil War reenactment is held at Stuart’s birthplace.
This year it will be Oct. 6 and 7. While few know of James Ewell Brown “Jeb”
Stuart and his proximity to Mount Airy, 150 years ago, he could have been seen
strolling down Main Street. “This was his hometown,” historian Tom Perry said
last week. “This is where he came to church, where his family shopped and picked
up their mail. I can’t find any record of any time his family went to Stuart
except for court stuff because his father was a lawyer.” Perry said there were
many stories of women who say their mothers or grandmothers danced with Stuart
at the Mount Airy Hotel. Even during the Civil War, Stuart desired to return to
neighboring Patrick County and live out the rest of his days in quiet. “I try to
tell people, he is the most important historical figure that walked these
streets. Jeb is a historical figure. He almost changed the course of history,
not necessarily for the best, but that’s history. It’s not up to me to say who
is bad or good,” Perry said. “Good, bad, or indifferent, Jeb was important.”
Stuart was born on Feb. 6, 1833. His parents were Archibald Stuart and Elizabeth
Letcher Pannill Stuart. His father was a lawyer who loved to have a good time,
loved to drink, and was the life of a party. His mother, on the other hand, was
“a very refined woman, intellectual, and well spoken,” Perry explained. Jeb was
one of 11 children, one child perished as an infant, and another died before
reaching age 10. The e Stuart family had a 1,500-acre farm, called Laurel Hill,
one mile from the Carolina-Virginia state line, where they grew wheat, hay and
tobacco and raised cattle. The farm was Elizabeth’s inheritance and was where
the Stuarts moved after Archibald lost his. Archibald was the fifth richest man
in the county, surpassed only by the Reynolds and the Hairstons. “They were very
prominent,” said Perry. “There’s not a lot known about Jeb as a child,” Perry
said. Stuart grew up on the farm until he entered Emory and Henry College in
1848. At school, Stuart joined the Methodist church and became a devout
Christian. He also joined the temperance movement. “He gave speeches on
temperance,” said Perry. “During the war he bought his men copies of scripture.
He was deeply religious.” Stuart was the eighth child and the youngest son. His
career options were lawyer, preacher or military and he pursued the latter.
Stuart went to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point where he graduated in
1854. Stuart wrote to his acquaintances after graduating from West Point, “Write
me at Mount Airy, North Carolina,” according to Perry. “It’s like people today
in Ararat, they drive to Mount Airy. They don’t drive to Stuart.” In 1855,
Stuart was appointed to the 1st US Calvary and married. “He spent seven years
total in the U.S. Army,” said Perry. “He rose up to be captain and was a really
promising young officer. He was stationed in Wyoming, Kansas and Texas.” During
that time, the “very political” Stuart, met Robert E. Lee and became friends
with him. In 1861, Virginia seceded from the union. “Stuart resigned from the
U.S. Army and offered his sword to Virginia,” Perry said. He became commander of
Lee’s cavalry and a major general. “There were 10,000 men on horseback under.”
Stuart was a highly competent soldier whose skills in raiding and reconnaissance
were unsurpassed in the Confederate army. He was instrumental in the successes
of Lee’s forces in the eastern theater, Perry explained. Stuart fought the
largest cavalry battle in the history of the western hemisphere at Brandy
Station in 1863. “Stuart was 31 when he died May 12, 1864,” Perry said. He was
wounded at the battle of Yellow Tavern and died in Richmond where he was buried.
“I’ve read every letter ever
written by Stuart and he keeps saying things like, ‘I wonder
if we could buy the old farm in Patrick County.’ He obviously loved this place
and that’s why I think it’s important to preserve it. He wasn’t a perfect human
being, but he was an important one,” Perry said. “He was Lee’s cavalry commander
in the Civil War. If the Confederates had won, he could’ve been President
Stuart. But if he was going to die, he died at probably the best time—before
they started sieging Richmond.” Stuart is most notorious for the Gettysburg
battle. “He went on a raid under orders from Lee and he arrived one day late.
Many said that if Stuart had been there it would’ve ended differently. Jeb was
called ‘Lee’s eyes’ and without Jeb there, Lee was blind,” Perry said. “He
fought Custer in a cavalry battle and they fought back and forth for the next
year.” It was Custer’s men who gave Stuart his fatal stomach wound. “He lived
from 4:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. the next day,” Perry said. “He just became
progressively weaker. He was conscious and very much aware of what was going on.
The president came to see him and there were five doctors and five ministers
there. Shows how important he was.” Supposedly, Stuart’s last word were, “God’s
will be done.” Perry said that the last owners of the birthplace were the couple
who sparked his interest interested in Jeb Stuart. George and Icy Brown sold the
70 acres to the birthplace group. “Icy got me interested,” said Perry. “They had
a picture of Jeb on the end table and had always wanted the place preserved.”
The Browns shared with Perry the stories they knew of the Stuarts and the times
in which Jeb grew up in. Twenty years ago, Perry began trying to preserve the
old farm where Stuart was born and raised. The birthplace now owns 70 acres of
Laurel Hill and has five acres across the river where Stuart’s grandfather was
buried. The birthplace is on the Virginia Civil War Trail as well as being in
the National Registry of Historic Places. It has been preserved through private
money and fundraisers. The birthplace has only markers and signs to remember
what was once an antebellum farmstead. However, it is a preserved park that is
open for people to visit from dawn to dusk. Perry said many come to picnic and
walk around or explore the trails. Couples have even been married at the
birthplace. “It’s set up to be a park and we just have the reenactment once a
year to highlight its ties to Jeb,” Perry said.
Courtesy of the Surry Messenger.
Recent Surry Messenger Articles
On Patrick County History.
The Wartime Effects of J.
E. B. Stuart Now on Display
New Items on Special Loan from the
Virginia Historical Society
Richmond, VA: The Museum of
the Confederacy is pleased to announce that the most complete collection of
Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s wartime effects will be exhibited to the public
together for the first time in a over a century. The Virginia Historical
Society’s collection of Stuart items will be on special loan to the Museum
of the Confederacy until 2010. The collection will join the Museum’s already
extensive collection of Stuart artifacts currently on display in The
Confederate Years, the Museum’s permanent exhibit. The collections
department will be installing the loan items on Friday, October 26, 2007.
New items on special loan from the Virginia Historical Society include his
Whitney pistol, uniform jacket, vest, trousers, and the blood-stained sash
worn at the time of his mortal wounding at Yellow Tavern in May of 1864.
Those items join the Museum’s regular Stuart display that includes his
French-made hat with ostrich plume, LeMat pistol and holster, saddle, boots,
gauntlets, French cavalry saber, sword belt, Calisher & Terry carbine, and
field desk.
"This exhibit is one of the
most complete exhibits of personal effects of an important Civil War general
ever on display," stated Robert Hancock, the Museum of the Confederacy’s
director of collections and senior curator. "It combines the two separate,
venerable collections of Stuart artifacts and has an impressive presence in
the Museum."
The Museum of the Confederacy is a private, nonprofit
educational institution. Free parking is available in the MCV/VCU Hospitals
Visitor/Patient parking deck adjacent to the Museum.
For additional information, please call (804) 649-1861 or
visit us on the web at www.moc.org
1201 E. Clay Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219
804-649-1861 • www.moc.org • fax 804-649-1460
Donation To Patrick County Library
Tom Perry recently donated copies of all his writings to the
Patrick County Branch of the Blue Ridge Regional Library in Stuart, Virginia.
Shown above with Librarian Rick Ward, who played J. E. B. Stuart in a play while
these two were in high school. :-) These materials are also at the Bassett
Historical Center and the Mount Airy Museum of History. While not to be checked
out they are there for anyone interested in doing serious research on Patrick
County and J. E. B. Stuart history.
You Can Go To High School Again
On October 9, Tom Perry spoke to four U. S. History classes at
Patrick County High School on Patrick County In The Civil War including the
classes of Douglas Dunlap and Glen Burnette shown here.
Teaching Local History by Glenn Burnett
Patrick County High School
"I have been teaching Virginia and United States History for five years at
Patrick County High School. As most teachers can imagine, my lesson plans are
full of SOL (Standards of Learning) objectives. After entering the Appalachian
Arts and Studies in the Schools (AASIS) program in the fall of 2005, I have
become more interested in teaching local history to my students. Our school is
located in Stuart, Virginia, named after JEB Stuart, the famous Confederate Army
General who was born in Patrick County.
This year I decided that I
was going to spend some time teaching my students about Patrick County during
the Civil War. I talked with Tom Perry, author of Patrick County in the Civil
War, about speaking with my classes. Mr. Perry is a very accomplished historian
with a great knowledge of JEB Stuart. For my students, however, he focused his
talk on the people of Patrick County. During his presentation he discussed the
lives of the county’s citizens during the war. I was hoping to just the majority
of my students to be somewhat interested in their history. What I noticed was
that the majority of my students were very interested in Mr. Perry’s discussion.
In fact, several students knew of their family’s heritage and linkage to the
Civil War.
I decided that I would ask my
students to search their family tree for last names and maybe even relatives
that they knew who served in the Civil War. Since I typically do not assign a
lot of homework, I was really worried that they would not do an assignment that
would probably only take a few minutes and little conversation with their
parents. What I did not realize at the time is that it allowed some parents the
chance to teach their children about their heritage and family history.
The next day the majority of
the students had finished their assignments and some brought family trees to
class. We then took a roster of Civil War soldiers from Patrick County and
started to look for last names that students shared with the soldiers. The list
that we used included several details about the soldiers, such as battles that
they fought, injuries they sustained, and plots where they are buried. It was
really amazing to see how the students became interested in what happened to the
soldiers that shared their last name.
Overall, it was the most
engaging lesson plan on the Civil War that I have implemented. Students really
appreciate and want to understand history if they can find a linkage between
their lives and history. This experience has helped me understand that the story
of regular citizens is more important to students than the usual larger than
life historical figure we seem to focus on in the classroom."
Friday Nights In
Ararat
Willis Gap Community Center
Willis Gap Community Center
144 The Hollow Road
Ararat, VA 24053
Willis Gap Community Center holds an open jam session on every Friday night.
(7:00 PM-10:00 PM). The Center has been doing jam sessions successfully for over
5 years. Jammers of all skill levels are invited to attend. Mostly Bluegrass is
played during the jam, the Center also loves Gospel, Country, and Oldies.
Hotdogs, chips, snacks, and drinks are available for purchase. All proceeds of
the Jam Session go to the Willis Gap Community Center. The WGCC is available to
rent for family, community, and church functions. Come out and visit the Willis
Gap Community Center for good friends, good food, and good fun.
Welcome To The New
Sponsor Of The Free State Of Patrick Rolling Thunder Raceway
Sponsorship Tent At
Rolling Thunder Raceway In Ararat
The Free State Of
Patrick is sponsoring a tent at the Rolling Thunder Raceway in Ararat, Virginia,
for groups wishing to raise money for their various causes every Friday night.
The tent includes an historical display from Tom Perry's photo collection such
as "Just Racin With Anthony Terry," which chronicles the racing career of Ararat
native Anthony Terry. On October 5, Perry working with Gary and Alesia
Nester, owners of the racetrack offered the open table to the J. E. B. Stuart
Birthplace the night before their Civil War encampment. Perry set up his display
"Stuart of Laurel Hill," an exhibit of every known photo of James Ewell Brown
"Jeb" Stuart.
Booth #110 recently opened in the Just Plain Country Store in Stuart, Virginia,
is the place to purchase Tom Perry's books along with other books including hard
cover fiction, history, civil war and paperback books at reasonable prices.
Also, included is an exhibit about the seven men from Patrick County who lost
their lives in Vietnam. Click here to learn more about the Just Plain Country
Store Antiques and Crafters Mall
http://www.justplaincountrystore.com, which is located at 301 South Main
Street Suite A, Stuart, Virginia, (276)694-5556.
Exhibits Photos And Other Materials
Beginning this
fall Tom Perry will be exhibiting photos and other materials around the region.
First, a revolving exhibit will be at Perry's booth #110 in the Just Plain Country
Store in Stuart, Virginia, where Perry's books will be on sale beginning in
August. Each year an exhibit is carried around to local festivals. In 2007, an
exhibit on "The Dinky" Mount Airy and Eastern Railroad is being carried around.
This includes photos of the train when it ran and photos of the discovery of the
rails recently along with two topographical taps showing the route of the railroad. It
will be on display in the booth beginning in November. In August through
September an exhibit on Patrick County in the Vietnam Conflict will be on
display in the booth (www.freestateofpatrick.com/vietnam.htm).
It includes a shadowbox of rubbings taken from the Vietnam Memorial in
Washington, D. C. from the seven men from Patrick County who gave their lives in
Vietnam. Also, included will be material on one man who came back from Vietnam
to make a difference. This exhibit will be on display at the Patrick County
Branch of the Blue Ridge Regional Library in October for Veteran's Day and at
the Bassett Historical Center in December and January.
Patrick County In The Vietnam Conflict: Seven Men Who
Gave All and One Who Came Home
November 2007-January 2008, Bassett Historical Center,
Bassett, VA.
Two of the rubbings from Vietnam shadowbox to be displayed
this fall.
The house where the last owner
of J. E. B. Stuart's Birthplace, Icy Bowman Brown, grew up is available.
Check the link below for more information. The property includes The Hollow
Post Office.
Great Aunt Betty Perry
holding her great niece Parker Simpson Perry.
