The J.E.B. Stuart Birthplace in Patrick County is associated with the early life of Confederate cavalry commander General James Ewell Brown Stuart. Described by Robert E. Lee as “my ideal of a soldier,” Stuart realized that cavalry could provide a screen for troop movement unhindered by the enemy, and he used lightning-strike cavalry rides to gather critical intelligence support on enemy troop movements. His famous “Ride Around McClellan” in June 1862 provided Lee with vital intelligence that enabled him to thwart the Federal Peninsula Campaign’s attempt to capture Richmond. The nominated 71 acres of Stuart’s birthplace comprise the core area of a farm operated by J.E.B.’s father, Archibald Stuart, and include the archaeological remains of Stuart’s Birthplace, Laurel Hill, which burned in the late 1840s. The J.E.B. Stuart Birthplace Preservation Trust acquired the nominated tract in 1991.