Stuart's Birthplace

To the west stood Laurel Hill (built about 1830), where Confederate Maj. Gen. James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was born on 6 Feb. 1833 to Archibald Stuart, a lawyer and politician, and Elizabeth Letcher Pannill Stuart. The house burned in the winter of 1847-1848. After graduation from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1854, Stuart served as a U.S. Army officer until May 1861 when he joined the Confederate army. In 1862, he became cavalry commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, and his fame is a part of the history of that army. Wounded while defending Richmond on 11 May 1864, Stuart died there the next day. He is buried at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.