[4] In association with Billy Whitlock, Dick Pelham, and Frank Brower, he organized the Virginia Minstrels, which made their first appearance before a paying audience at the Chatham Theatre in New York City in 1843.

[9] The story that he related about its composition varied each time he told it, but the main points were that he composed the song in New York City while a member of Bryant's Minstrels.

"[10] After the South began using his song as a rallying call, Emmett wrote the fife-and-drum manual for the Union Army.

Emmett's song was a favorite of President Abraham Lincoln, who said after the war ended in 1865, "I have always thought that 'Dixie' was one of the best tunes I ever heard...

[13][14] After a tour that was notably successful in the South, Emmett retired to his hometown of Mount Vernon in 1888[15] where he died on June 28, 1904, aged 88 years.

[citation needed] Numerous schools, businesses, and other institutions in Mount Vernon, Ohio, are named after Emmett.

The official memorial to him is a large boulder with a placard attached located in front of the Knox County Historical Museum.