Vigo County Historical Society
Historical Treasure Article
Historic Treasure of the Week -
June 26, 1983
By Donald L. Layton
Vigo County Historical Society
Salute to Uncle Sam
This week’s historical treasure is a statue of Uncle Sam, the symbol of the United States.
Although the origin of the term “Uncle Sam” is disputed, it is usually associated with Sam Wilson, an army meat inspector and provisioner during the War of 1812, who was affectionately known as “Uncle Sam” Wilson. Many people in the Troy, New York area where Wilson lived, assumed that the U.S. stamped on crates and barrels of salted meat were the initials of Uncle Sam Wilson. (The letters U.S. for the United States were almost entirely new to people at the time.) In short time all government property was being referred to as “Uncle Sam’s, and by 1814 the periodicals were full of references to the term.
Uncle Sam’s costume, decorated with stars and stripes originated in the cartoons of the 1830’s, although cartoonists generally depicted him as a young man without a beard or gray hair. Dan Rice, one of the first great American Clowns, also helped popularize Uncle Sam’s costume in the Ringling Brothers’ circus around 1870. The first cartoonist to crystallize the now familiar figure of Uncle Sam was Thomas Nast in the early 1870’s.
Perhaps the most widely known rendition of Uncle Sam was the “I Want You” poster urging men to enlist in the United States Army. Designed by James Montgomery Flagg in 1917, this poster was widely used during World War I and World War II.
In 1961 the United States Congress officially recognized Sam Wilson as “Uncle Sam” and made him the national symbol.
The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.