The paintings in the collection dealing with the Civil War reflect the time during the war from 1861 to1865 and the Reconstruction period afterward. The hostilities, which began with the first shots fired at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861, destroyed the optimism of the antebellum period. The Confederate States lost a war that would forever alter the landscape of the South. Their men had been killed and their once booming economy shattered. Yet, while the conflict between the federal government and the Confederate States devastated the South, it also strengthened a new Southern identity. The paintings in the Morris Museum's collection reflect a Southern perspective on the War.

Highlights (Click on an image for object details)
Battle of the Kearsarge & Alabama By Xanthus Russell Smith 1892	Battle of Shiloh—"The Hornet's Nest" By Thure de Thulstrup 1888	Columbia Welcoming the South Back into the Union By Constantino Brumidi c. 1876
Floyd's Command, Gauley Bridge, Virginia By William D. Washington 1864	The Infantryman By William Gilbert Gaul c. 1905	The Lost Cause By Henry Mosler (attrib.) 1869
Merrimac in the Bay (C.S.S. Virginia) Unknown artist c. 1863	Naval Engagement Unknown artist c. 1863	Surprise Attack Near Harpers Ferry By John A. Mooney c. 1868