A minstrel troupe is embarking for a tour of the South. Henry Clay, a negro appears on the scene wearing the frayed coat of a Confederate General. He borrows a guitar from one of the minstrel men and begins singing "Way down South in Dixie," and the story unfolds. It opens coincident with the Civil War. The mistress at the old plantation sends Clay with a note to give to Belle at the next plantation. In response Belle returns and meets her lover Fairley, the brother of the mistress, while William, an older man, is revealed as the suitor of the hostess. It turns out in the course of a foxhunt that "William was a gay deceiver." Then comes the South in the saddle and the war. The mistress dies of a broken heart and Belle is left lonely. Fairley goes on secret service as a spy and writes Belle a farewell note. William, who is shown as conscience-stricken, rushes back to war duty. A battle results in William's capture, and he is taken North to prison accompanied by the faithful Clay. They attempt to escape prison and William is mortally wounded by a guard, Fairley has been captured as a spy and is about to be shot when the proclamation of peace arrests the order and releases him. Clay brings him a note from the dead William urging him to hasten south to Belle. The scene shifts to the ruined homes of the South, but Belle and Fairley are reunited, and the song rounds out the picturesque story on the old plantation with the negroes dancing the "walk around."