Even though the song "Dixie" brings thoughts of something quite different from money, the pre Civil War $10.00 bill of a New Orleans, Louisiana bank gave the name "Dixie" to the south.
The principal bills issued by the Citizens Bank of Louisiana in New Orleans before the War Between the States were in $10.00 denominations. The New Orleans Bank note was engraved in english on one side and in French on the other. On the French side the word 'dix' was very prominent. The word 'Dix' in French means 'ten.' These $10 Bank Notes were widely used.
The American people throughtout the Mississippi valley who did not know the French pronunciation called the bills 'Dixies' and Louisiana came to be known as 'The Land of Dixies' or 'Dixie Land.' This inspired Dan Emmett, who in 1859 composed the original 'Dixie Land' for a minstrel show, then performing in New York. He embodied in it the expression he had so often heard: 'I wish I were in Dixie.' This song was later written by General Albert Pike, who gave it the battle thrill that makes 'Dixie' immortal and stamps the name 'Dixie' upon the south.
