Fannie Murdaugh Downing

Fannie Murdaugh Downing. . , "The Seal of Virginia is sealed in her heart," a line from Sic Semper Tyrannis, Fannie Downing's Civil War poem about her native state during the troubling times of the war. This too couId have described her own life., Downing, who went on to become well-known as a newspaper editor, southern poet, and author, was born in Portsmouth to Mr. and Mrs. John Washington Murdaugh in 1831. Although she married Charles W. Downing, secretary of the state of Florida and son of the representative of the territory of Florida, she nevertheless chose to stay closer to home., With the coming of the War Between the States and the occupation of Portsmouth by the Federal Army, this ardent supporter of the Southern cause fled with her family to Charlotte, North Carolina where she joined the editorial staff of The Land We Love. Upon returning to Portsmouth after the war, she furthered her career in journalism, serving on the staff of the Portsmouth Daily Times., During the difficulty the economic times in the wake of the war, she persevered in making a living for herself and her children in a man-sized world, writing short stories, poems and novels.