Dixie is the name of a famous song especially popular in the Southern United States. Daniel D. Emmett, a member of a minstrel troupe, made the song a hit when he performed it in 1859 in New York City. It was used as a closing number because it involved the entire company. Emmett may have learned “Dixie” from a family of black musicians in his hometown of Mt. Vernon, Ohio.
At the beginning of the Civil War (1861-1865), versions of “Dixie” were played and sung by both Union and Confederate troops. Gradually, the song became a battle hymn for Confederate troops. After the Confederate Army surrendered in 1865, President Abraham Lincoln asked a band at the White House to play “Dixie,” reclaiming it as a song for the entire nation. However, the song continues to be a symbol of Southern identity.
