Texas Wild Flowers

These beautiful watercolor images of Texas wild flowers were created in the 1840s and 1850s by Eliza Griffin Johnston, bound into a book, and given to her husband, General Albert Sidney Johnston for his birthday. In 1862, during the Civil War, General Johnston was killed at the Battle of Shiloh. In 1894, Eliza's friend, Rebecca Jane Fisher, of The Daughters of the Republic of Texas, began acquiring artifacts from the Republic of Texas era for a museum and asked Eliza for something that had belonged to the General. It was through those efforts that the chapter received the book, which remained in an Austin bank vault for many years. In 2008, the images were digitalized and the members wanted the beauty of the book to be shared with others. With more than 100 watercolor paintings and a description of each flower, this book is a treasure from Texas's past and an artistic gem.

A native of Virginia, Eliza Griffin Johnston married General Albert Sidney Johnston in 1843. While living in Austin, Texas, she began painting the wildflowers in the area, which she presented to her husband for his birthday. She died in 1896.