[1] Following in the footsteps of his father's profession, he learned to operate a hand-loom at a young age, though he would often be found sketching with charcoal on the white fabric instead of plying the shuttle.

Though Moran loved to regale others with a tale of walking alone from Baltimore to Philadelphia in order to find a better future for himself, his niece has declared that the entire family moved to the city together.

[5] Proceeds from the exhibit, the catalog, and the sale of another painting (The Relief Ship Entering Havre) were donated by Moran to aid the sufferers of the Franco-Prussian war.

[2] In 1885, at the height of his career, Moran began what would be considered his most important work - a series of 13 paintings representing the Marine History of the United States.

The subjects include Leif Ericsson, Christopher Columbus, Hernando de Soto, Henry Hudson, and Admiral Dewey, among others.