"The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down".

 "Where does this hatred come from"?

Unfortunately, it's taught.

There is nothing innate about racism.

There are no winners in Wars, only Losers.  The American Civil War was a war where the Civilian Population was targeted to suffer, because doing so hastened the end of the war.  The North still had the moral high ground, as Slavery needed to be ended, but once the likes of Sherman and Sheridan figured out that making War on Civilians would cause desertions from the Southern Armies, and therefore felt that inflicting this pain could be justified as legitimate, a lot of bad things happened.    Most Southerners who fought were to poor to own slaves.  They were persuaded by their leaders and their  society they lived in that it was noble for them to give up their lives so that Southern Aristocrats could enjoy the fruits of their sacrifices.  I always viewed the narrator of this song as one of those duped white teenagers who  gets to live the horrors of war and is witnessing of the demise of his world, and is caught in forces not of his own making

Birth of a Nation is an important watch if you value cinematic history in regard to the development of techniques still used to this day.

The black and white depiction of the Civil War betrays our desire for easy answers. Most northerners did not fight to end slavery. Racism was ingrained d

nationwide due to scientific, cultural, and religious justifications. The implications and inheritance of such  systemic rationalizations unfortunately still exist. I appreciate the song in question as a lament and enjoy the discussion to its meanings.  I wonder if there were any songs rueing the fall of the Roman Empire?

Or the "1000 year Reich"...

@bdp24, I don't think watching "The Birth Of A Nation" will give you much insight about your relatives' beliefs.  It's an adaptation of a book and play titled "The Clansman: An Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan".  The film was instrumental in the nationwide resurgence of the KKK during the 1920s.  The Stoneman family play a prominent role in the movie, but I don't know if they are linked to Stoneman's Calvary from the song.

I want to thank you for sharing details about your family.  It's not always easy being the person you want to be.  If you want to understand racism in American history you should start with "The 1619 Project".  The same people who wrote that all men are created equal were enslavers.  Go figure.

@mahler123, I agree with your description of the characters in the song, however, if you get into a war you have to win.  And if that means killing woman, children and the elderly, then that's what you have to do.  Read up on the bombing strategies of the Allies in WW2.  The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are another good example of doing whatever is necessary to get your enemy to surrender.  The moral high ground is to not start a war, but if war is forced upon then destroy the enemy by any means necessary.