Laurel Hill
The Birthplace of James Ewell Brown Stuart
Laurel Hill, the 1,500-acre farm of Archibald and Elizabeth Letcher Pannill Stuart, was the birthplace of their seventh child, James Ewell Brown Stuart, at 11 a.m. on February 6, 1833. The house burned to the ground during the winter of 1847-48.
"Jeb" Stuart attended Emory and Henry College in southwestern Virginia (1848-50) and the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York (1850-54). After serving as an officer in the U.S. cavalry in Texas and Kansas (1854-61), and assisting in the capture of John Brown at Harpers Ferry in 1859, he resigned his commission when Virginia seceded in 1861.
As trhe commander of Gen. Robert E. Lee's cavalry in the Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War, Stuart expanded the contribution of the mounted arm as the "eyes and ears" of the army. He achieved fame for the first "Ride Around McLellan" during the Seven Days' Battles east of Richmond, temporarily commanded Jackson's corps after Stonewall fell wounded at Chancelorsville, and thoroughly dominated the Union cavalry for most of his career. Stuart was mortally wounded on May 11,1864, at the Battle of Yellow Tavern, died in Richmond the next day, and is buried there at Hollywood Cemetery.
Two of his brothers, also born at Laurel Hill, likewise served the Confederacy during the war. William Alexander Stuart operated the alkali works in Saltville, where while John Dabney Stuart served as a surgeon in the 54th Virginia Infantry Regiment.
Marker is on Ararat Highway (County Route 773), on the right when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
