Civil War exhibit at Quilt Museum

The Virginia Quilt Museum will feature an exhibit of quilts from the 1860s to honor the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.

The wives, mothers and daughters who watched their men leave to fight stayed at home to carry on daily life. In addition, they sewed for the army, cared for the wounded and protected property and family. Surviving Civil War quilts made in Virginia are rare and very unusual.

The Civil War era quilts in this exhibit are part of the collection preserved by the Virginia Quilt Museum.

The Virginia Quilt Museum is located in the home built in 1856 by Edward T. H. Warren for his wife, Virginia Magruder Warren. During the war the house was used as a hospital. Mrs Warren lost her husband, father and three brothers to the Southern cause. Two other brothers were severely wounded. Through all of this she stayed behind and did her part caring for her children and others.

The Women Who Stayed Behind, Stories of Civil War Quilts and Their Makers, is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Virginia Commission for the Arts and James McHone. The Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 301 South Main Street, Harrisonburg.

Parking in the municipal lot behind the museum is free.

Phone 540.433.3818 for more information and for group tours.