Anticipating the outbreak of the Civil War, John Bachman prepared a series of "Panoramas of the Seat of War". His 1861Bird's Eye View of Texas and Part of Mexico is a wonderfully detailed aerial view from a perspective above the Gulf of Mexico looking down to the already well developed port of Galveston and the emerging hub of Houston.

Nearly 90,000 Texans saw military service in the war, most fighting on the side of the Confederacy. Most of the enlisted defended Texas from Indian attacks and Union invasion, or participated in expansionist moves into New Mexico Territory. A few battles were fought in Texas: at Arbuckle, Brownsville, Cobb, Washita, the Sabine Pass, Taylor's Bayou, and most significantly, the port of Galveston.