Dixie Again.
Title:Dixie Again.
Author:Unknown
Publication:Preston Guardian
Published in:
Date:November 1st 1862
Commentary
This single stanza of five lines, supposedly a popular parody of ‘Dixie’ sung by women in Tennessee, is perhaps as interesting in its publication context here as in its own qualities. Preston was a town that was one of the worst affected by the Cotton Famine and was also largely Roman Catholic, so had a relatively independent spirit. It was in Preston that the Union-supporting chaplain of the relief ship, the Griswold, was shouted down from the stage by ‘Williffe Cunliam’ (William Cunliffe) a year later when he tried to garner British support for the north in the Civil War. Although publication is not necessarily endorsement, somebody at this newspaper decided they would publish this attack on a politician who was gaining support in many other parts of Britain at this time. An important meeting just 35 miles away in Manchester declared the city’s support for Lincoln a month after this was published. This poem’s publication here was preceded by the following note: [Note:- “A Tennessee letter writer says: - “You would be both amused and disgusted to hear the variations of Dixie sung by the women in this civilised state. I send you a “specimen brick:”] SR