Lunch & Learn: Love in Lynchburg—Where North Met South
Part of our Lunch & Learn series! Bring your own lunch (or feel free to grab something to go from our neighbor, Daisy’s) and join us for this noontime talk in the ACWM—Tredegar lobby! Mary Harker was a young Quaker girl from Mt. Holly, New Jersey. John Slaughter was a slaveholder living and working in Lynchburg, VA. In 1861 they had been married eight years and had three sons with a fourth child on the way. So how did these two people, with obviously disparate backgrounds, end up together? John was teased that “the prettiest girl in New Jersey was marrying the ugliest man in Virginia.” Was it some sort of arranged marriage? How did Mary reconcile her Quaker upbringing with managing a home with five enslaved servants? And would their relationship survive the war when Mary traveled home to her parents and John stayed to defend Lynchburg against an approaching Union army?
Event Cost: $
Jan 12, 2026 from 12:00 PM to Jan 12, 2026 @ 12:45 PM
Organizer
The American Civil War Museum explores the most critical period in America’s history–the Civil War era. Our premier artifact collection, immersive exhibitions, and diverse programming tell the stories of soldiers and civilians locked in a struggle over the soul and future of this nation. We invite visitors to see themselves as part of an alive and evolving history. The American Civil War Museum explores, inspires, and promotes the public’s understanding of the Civil War’s causes, course, and consequences.
