March, mid – Sam returned to New York. There are no letters for this period, so the reasons are unclear, but it was probable that he lost his job, given that his pay in Philadelphia was more than he’d received in New York. It’s also possible that Sam was growing restless, having been away from home nearly a year. There are unclaimed letters for Sam in Philadelphia dated Mar. 10 and also Mar. 17, indicating he had gone to New York by Mar. 10. Sam’s memory of this period was vague, and it seems likely it was one of struggle. Unemployment was high for printers after fires at the major publishers, Harper & Bros., and Cooledge & Bros. in Dec. 1853 [MTL 1: 45]. Sam’s Washington correspondence was printed in the Muscatine Journal in March [Camfield, bibliog.].