John Thomas Lewis Preston

John Thomas Lewis Preston
J. T. L. Preston. 1907 portrait based on 1855 photo.
Born	(1811-04-25)April 25, 1811 Lexington, Virginia
Died	July 15, 1890(1890-07-15) (aged 79) Lexington, Virginia
Buried at	Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery Lexington, Virginia
Allegiance	Virginia  Confederate States
Service/branch	Virginia Militia  Confederate States Army
Rank	Colonel (Virginia Militia) Lieutenant Colonel (CSA)
Unit	Virginia Military Institute 9th Virginia Infantry
Battles/wars	American Civil War
Other work	Founder and faculty member, Virginia Military Institute

John Thomas Lewis Preston (April 25, 1811–July 15, 1890) was an American educator and military officer from Virginia. He was a primary founder and organizer of the Virginia Military Institute, and was one of its first two faculty members. He also served in the Confederate military during the American Civil War.

J. T. L. Preston was born in Lexington, Virginia on April 25, 1811. He was raised in Lexington and Richmond, and received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) in 1828.

Preston subsequently attended graduate courses at the University of Virginia and Yale University. He then studied law, attained admission to the bar, and started a practice in Lexington.

In 1881 he received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Washington and Lee.

In the years after the War of 1812, the state of Virginia built and maintained several arsenals to store weapons intended for use by the state militia in the event of invasion or insurrection. In the 1830s Preston belonged to a Lexington debate club known as the Franklin Society. In 1836 Preston made the case to the society that the arsenal in Lexington could be put to better use as a normal school for providing education on practical subjects, as well as military training to individuals who could be expected to serve as officers in the militia if needed.

After debate and revision of the original proposal, the Franklin Society voted in favor of Preston’s concept. After a public relations campaign that included Preston meeting in person with influential business, military and political figures, letters to the editor from Preston writing under a pen name, and letters to the editor and open letters from supporters including Norwich University founder Alden Partridge, in 1836 the Virginia legislature passed a bill authorizing creation of a normal school at the Lexington arsenal, and the Governor signed the measure into law.