In the early summer of 1863, Fanny traveled to Manhattan in hopes of visiting her husband in the field. Mail traveled at a slow and spotty pace at best during the height of the war, which left Fanny and Lawrence constantly missing each other. When news came of the fighting in Gettysburg, she chose to remain in New York and wait for news of the outcome. She inadvertently found herself caught on the edges of the New York City draft riots while she stayed in the St. Germaine Hotel on Fifth Avenue and Broadway. She remained sequestered in the hotel while the Army rolled cannons into the park across the street, and when the danger passed, she returned home to Maine.