Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Thomas David Perry Collection, Ms2008-006, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The Thomas David Perry Collection was donated to Special Collections in 2002. Additional materials were donated in 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2008.

Processing Information

The collection is unprocessed. This inventory is adapted from a guide created by the donor. A digital version of the donor's guide, which provides a more detailed description of its contents, may be found online.

Biographical Note

Born in 1960, Thomas David Perry graduated from Virginia Tech in 1984. He founded the J. E. B. Stuart Birthplace Preservation Trust in 1990, serving as its president from 1990 to 1992; he has also served at various times on the trust's board of directors and has served on the boards of directors of the Jubal Early Homeplace and the Patrick County Historical Society. In North Carolina, Perry has been a founding member of both the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History and the Surry County Civil War Round Table. Perry has presented numerous speeches on Patrick County, "Jeb" Stuart, and the Civil War; he has also conducted several symposia and tours and published several works on these topics.

Scope and Content

This collection contains materials gathered by Virginia Tech graduate (class of 1984) and historian Thomas David Perry during more than 20 years of research and writing on the history of Patrick County, Virginia. Much of the material is devoted to the life, family, and birthplace of James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart, a Confederate General during the American Civil War. The collection contains such materials as manuscript drafts, printed materials, correspondence, scrapbooks and photographs. Much of the material relates to the research and writing of three of Perry's books, Ascent to Glory: the Genealogy of Jeb Stuart ; Stuart's Birthplace: a History of Laurel Hill Farm ; and The Free State of Patrick: Patrick County, Virginia in the Civil War . The collection also contains press and promotional material relating to the effort to preserve Stuart's birthplace.

Arrangement

The collection is unprocessed and remains largely in the order in which it was received. Generally, the collection is arranged within the following categories: Patrick County in the American Civil War; genealogy of J. E. B. Stuart; history of Laurel Hill Farm, Stuart's birthplace; records of the J. E. B. Stuart Birthplace; general American Civil War and Patrick County history files; and Perry's personal papers.

Separated Material

The following books were transferred to the Rare Book Collection:

Perry, Thomas David, Stuart's birthplace: the history of the Laurel Hill farm ([S.l.: The Author], 2007). Call number: E467.1.S9 P45 2007 Spec Civil War.

Perry, Thomas David, Ascent to glory: the genealogy of J. E. B. Stuart ([S.l.: The Author], 2007). Call number: CS71.S93 P47 2008 Spec Civil War.

Brown, Dean W., Boyhood adventures of General JEB Stuart, Civil War Hero (Bloomington, Ind.: Authorhouse, 2005). Call number: E467.1.S9 B67 2005 Spec Civil War.

Wood, Karenne and Diane Shields, The Monacan Indians: our story ([Madison Heights, Va.: Monacan Indian Nation, 1999?]). Call number: E99.M85 W66 1999 Spec Large.

Garren, Terrell T., The Secret of war: a dramatic history of Civil War crime in western North Carolina (Spartanburg, S.C.: The Reprint Company, 2004). Call number: PS3607.A768 S43 2004 Spec Civil War.

Krick, Robert K., The Smoothbore volley that doomed the Confederacy: the death of Stonewall Jackson and other chapters on the Army of Northern Virginia (Baton Rouge, La.: Louisiana State University Press, 2002). Call number: E470.2 .K75 2002 copy 2 Spec Civil War.

Allison, Roger A., A Brief history of Saltville ([Saltville, Va.: Saltville Centennial Committee, 1996?]). Call number: F234.S17 A55 1996 Spec Civil War.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Civil War
• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• Patrick County (Va.) -- History
• Stuart, Jeb, 1833-1864
• Students and alumni
• United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
• University History
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (1970-)

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Thomas David Perry Collection by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).