September 7, 1813

Today in history: on September 7, 1813, the United States earned the nickname “Uncle Sam”

On this day in 1813, the United States officially earned the nickname Uncle Sam. The man linked to the origin of this name is Samuel Wilson, a meat packer from Troy, New York, who supplied barrels of beef to the U.S. Army during the War of 1812. Wilson stamped the barrels with “U.S.” for “United States,” but soldiers began referring to the food as “Uncle Sam’s.” The local newspaper then picked up the story and Uncle Sam eventually gained widespread acceptance as the nickname for the United States federal government.

In the late 1860s and 1870s, political cartoonist Thomas Nast began popularizing the original image of Uncle Sam. He continued to evolve this image, eventually giving him the white beard and stars-and-stripes suit that continue to be associated with the character today. Perhaps the most famous image of Uncle Sam was created by artist James Montgomery Flagg. Uncle Sam wears a blue jacket and tall top hat while pointing straight ahead at the viewer in Flagg’s version. During World War I, this portrait with the words “I Want You for The U.S. Army” was used as a recruiting poster. The poster was then widely distributed and has since been re-used with numerous different captions.

In September 1961, Congress officially recognized Samuel Wilson as “the progenitor of America’s national symbol of Uncle Sam.” Wilson died in 1854 at the age of 88 and was buried next to his wife Betsey’s grave in Troy, New York, the town that calls itself “The Home of Uncle Sam.”