History: Dixie Down

The Band: The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

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In 1865, during the final days of the American Civil War, Richmond VA was the Confederate capital. General Robert E. Lee's army held a line in Petersburg to defend the capital from Ulysses S. Grant's Union troops. That winter, General Stoneman's calvary invaded from the Blue Ridge Mountains, practicing total war and out to punish southern civilians, tearing up the Danville Railroad tracks, and leaving Lee's troops without food or supplies. By the coming spring, it was over for Dixie; Lee surrendered Richmond after unbearable Union attacks.

Virgil Caine remembers this arcane Civil War struggle in one of the greatest American songs ever recorded. Fans of this Robbie Robertson masterpiece are encouraged to check out Peter Viney's fine essay examining the historical foundation and meanings in the song.