Four Seasons of the Confederacy: Murals by Charles Hoffbauer August 2, 2008

French mural artist Charles Hoffbauer was commissioned by the Confederate Memorial Association in 1914 to paint a series of Civil War murals for the newly constructed Battle Abbey. With the outbreak of World War I, he interrupted his labors and returned to France, leaving his project half completed. He came back after the war only to obliterate his earlier work, explaining that his front-line experiences had radically changed his view of war. The murals were unveiled in January, 1921. Today, his work stands untouched. The murals follow the changing seasons and include the 'Spring Mural,' depicting Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson reviewing his troops in the Shenandoah Valley, and the 'Summer Mural,' which portrays a fictitious gathering of Confederate commanders. The 'Autumn Mural' shows J. E. B. Stuart leading his cavalrymen on a foray through Virginia woods, and the series ends with the 'Winter Mural,' which illustrates the misery of an artillery battery in retreat through the snow, its equipment shattered, its men on the verge of exhaustion.