Thomas David Perry Collection

The Thomas D. Perry Collection is housed in the Special Collections Department of  the Newman Library at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.

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                                                                        Tom Perry with Dr. James I. Robertson, Jr. of Virginia Tech

VIRGINIA TECH SPECIAL COLLECTIONS RECEIVES
CONFEDERATE CAVALRYMAN "JEB" STUART MATERIALS

     BLACKSBURG, Jan. 30, 2003 -- Virginia Tech is the designated beneficiary of a comprehensive collection of research and reference materials relating to the life of the Civil War's most illustrious cavalry officer, Gen. James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart.

     The Special Collections department of University Libraries, in concert with the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies (VCCWS), has taken custody of an initial contribution of 13 boxes of documents, photographs, and other items focused on the personal and professional life of Stuart and the preservation of his "Laurel Hill" birthplace, which is located in the Patrick County community of Ararat, Va.

     The Thomas D. Perry/Jeb Stuart Collection is the gift of Thomas D. Perry, a 1984 graduate of Virginia Tech with a bachelor's degree in history, and founder of the J. E. B. Stuart Birthplace Preservation Trust, based in Ararat.

     Perry's initial contribution contains a photo album, scrapbooks, papers, and electronic images relating to Stuart's Laurel Hill birthplace; notes pertaining to the Stuart genealogy; materials about the history of Patrick County, and Perry's notes and other materials assembled in the course of tours and speaking engagements from 1990 to 2002, among numerous other items. Perry will add material to the collection as he completes continuing research projects or expands on those previously undertaken.

     William C. Davis, director of programs at VCCWS, said "The Thomas Perry Collection will open important windows on the life of 'Jeb' Stuart and will become a valuable resource for those wanting to study the Confederacy's premier cavalryman and his family. Its placement in Special Collections at Virginia Tech, affiliated as they are with the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies, is certain to enhance the growing importance of the university and the Center as a recognized knowledge base for Civil War historians, scholars, students, and the interested community at large."

     "Thomas Perry has managed to combine his deep personal interest and commitment with a sense of duty and obligation to give something back to the field of Civil War history and American education," Davis said.

     James I. Robertson Jr., executive director of VCCWS, noted that "Gen. 'Jeb' Stuart was one of the Confederacy's most capable and dedicated leaders. Tom Perry's fine gift to the university and the Center will contribute to our understanding of Stuart's personal life and will help to cast new light on influences--both personal and professional--that inspired and guided his career."

     Perry said there were several reasons for selecting Virginia Tech as the repository for his material. "Obviously, Tech being my alma mater was a large consideration, along with my tremendous respect for "Bud" Robertson (VCCWS executive director) and Jack Davis, and their work at the Virginia Center For Civil War Studies. But the fact that so many men who fought with Stuart during the Civil War came to influence the university was another. A third reason was the university's proximity to Laurel Hill and Patrick County--close enough so all locations will be conveniently accessible to future researchers."

     A veteran of some of the Civil War's most famous campaigns, including 1st and 2nd Bull Run, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, "Jeb" Stuart is generally regarded as the war's most distinguished and capable cavalry leader, North or South. Nicknamed "Beauty" by his West Point classmates for his copious flowing beard, Stuart was a close confidant of Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, and a trusted and respected subordinate of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Stuart was mortally wounded at the Yellow Tavern skirmish in the spring of 1864. - Allan Miller

Biographical Information on Thomas D. Perry

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. He has started a symposium series about aspects of Stuart’s life to sustain interest in Stuart beyond Ararat, Virginia." Thomas David Perry born in 1960, grew up in Ararat, Virginia, the son of Erie Meredith and Betty Jane Hobbs Perry. He is a 1974 graduate of Blue Ridge Elementary school, where his father was Principal. Tom graduated Patrick County High School in 1979. In 1984, he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in history from Virginia Tech. Tom started the J. E. B. Stuart Birthplace Preservation Trust, Inc. in 1990. 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 materials including two trips across the Mississippi River to visit nearly every place "Jeb" Stuart served in the United States Army (1854-1861). He leads an annual Civil War bus tour about Stuart along with speaking over fifty times a year about historical topics. He continues his work to preserve Stuart’s Birthplace as the Emeritus Board Member producing the Laurel Hill Teacher’s Guide for educators and the Laurel Hill Reference Guide for groups and the organization to share his lifetime of research on the only preserved site in the nation relating to the birthplace and boyhood home of James Ewell Brown 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 and Stuart's Birthplace: The History of the Laurel Hill Farm. He is editing J. E. B. Stuart’s Papers for future publication. Tom produces a monthly email newsletter about regional history entitled Notes From The Free State of Patrick that goes out to over 2000 people from this website.

Click Here To Learn About The Perry Photo Collection