"Dixie's Land" was originally written for the Northern minstrel stage and was first performed by Bryant's Minstrels as a closing number at New York City's Mechanics Hall. It was introduced to the South by Carlo Patti, the orchestra director at New Orleans' Varieties Theatre, who used it to accompany a march and drill routine performed by 40 women dressed as Zouaves. It took the town by storm and went on to become the unofficial "national anthem" of the Confederacy when it was played at Jefferson Davis's 1861 inauguration.

"Dixie's Land" was also one of Abraham Lincoln's favorite tunes and the first song he asked to have played for him in public following Lee's surrender at Appomatox.

"Dixie's Land"