t:t UNCLE SAM BY ALBERT MATTHEWS UNCLE SAM BY ALBERT MATTHEWS Reprinted from the Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society Volume XIX WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS THE DAVIS PRESS 1908 ^h r. 82 ^Sketches, p. 165. In her Southern Tour, published in 1831, Mrs. Royall wrote: "Besides the collector [at the custom house. New Orleans], they have 'i clerks, gangers, inspectors, &c. Most of these were as shabby a set of gawks, as ever disgraced Uncle Sam" (p. 32). " This singular expression, now obsolete or obsolescent, was common in the first half of the nineteenth century. It was originally the slang of the boatmen on the Mississippi and other Western rivers. See C. Schultz, Jr., Travels (1810), II, 145, 146. The Salem Gazette of June 12, 1812, a few days before war was declared with England, printed the following: "Curious Terms of Defiance. New-Orleans April 24. 'Half horse half alligator' — has hitherto been the boast of our up-country boatmen, when quarreling. The present season however has made a complete change. A Tew days ago two of them quarreled in a boat at Natchez, when one of them jumping ashore declared with a horrid oath that he was a steamboat. His opponent immediately followed him, swearing he was an earthquake and would shake him to pieces — and in fact almost literally executed his threat. " The Salem Oazette added "It is these monsters of the western wilds that are forcing the people of the Atlantic shores into an unnecessary and ruinous war"' (p. 4-1). ^'New York Mirror, February 19, 1831, VIII, 260. 261. The indefatigable Pauld- ing contributed to the Unitea States and Democratic Review for April, 1851, an article called "Uncle Sam and his 'B'hoys, '" from which the following is extracted: "Uncle Sam talks 'big' sometimes, like his old dad, Squire Bull, who was reckoned the greatest bragger of his day, till Uncle Sam grew up and disputed the point with him" (XXVIII, 299). 44 American Antiquarian Society. [April, In 1835 David Crockett wrote: "Them that danced should pay the piper; but I suppose they will all say as the young man said of the old quaker when the robbers stopped the mail-coach. The old gentleman gave up his purse; the young man held back: a pistol was presented at him: 'Oh/ says he, 'don't shoot; old uncle always pays for me!' So poor old Uncle Sam, I suppose, will pay for all: and I am glad that the funding system has paid off our national debt, so that a few hundreds of thousands won't hurt us much now. General Jackson can pay off the post-office debt as he said he would the old debt, by borrowing; and then we'll burn all the books and old extra contracts, and begin dee novo, as the Latin scholars say in Congress. "^^ In 1835 Charles J. Latrobe, Australian governor and traveller, remarked: "You may recollect I mentioned in a former letter, a certain double-barrelled fowling-piece which the commissioner had brought away from a government agent on the Missouri. It had kept us company ever since, going among us generally by the name of 'Uncle Sam,' such was the soubriquet given by the Americans to the General Government, from the usual initials U. S. or United States, affixed upon Government property."" n84 In 1835 Edward S. Abdy, an Englishman, observed: "I mention this trifling circumstance, because it illustrates a striking feature in the national character. 'Uncle Sam' is the veriest slave of habit in existence, and dislikes trouble. He would rather put up with an inconvenience than put him- self out of his way." In a note he added : "This appellation corresponds with our 'John Bull'; and is supposed to be derived from the initials U. S. As the nation has not yet been able to fix upon a distinctive title, perhaps that of Caucasia would not be inappropriate."^^ On December 28, 1836, General George A. McCall said : "At the usual hour for the examination of recruits, one bright ** Toiir to the North and Down East, p. 202. Uncle Sam had previously figjired in the Narrative of the Life of David Crockett (1834), p. 86. "The Rambler in America, I, 160. '"Journal of a Residence and Tour in the United States, II, 301. 1908.] Uncle Sam-. 45 spring morning, the surgeon and myself having assembled in my office high up in Market Street for the purpose I have stated, the sergeant brought, among other candidates for the honor of serving * Uncle Sam, ' a perfect Hercules in physical Development. "^® In 1838 there appeared in Bentley's Miscellany a series of articles called Uncle Sam's Peculiarities, from which the following is extracted : "We must here digress from our immediate subject, for the purpose of properly introducing one of the most celebrated characters now talked of. This personage, Major Jack Dovming by name, is in everybody's notice as a great American jester, but, like Uncle Sam, is but a name. There may originally have been a Major Jack Downing, a comical 'military' officer, and there may also have been an Uncle Sam in Boston, whose initials happening to be the same as the initial letters of the United States was, from a postmaster, or government contractor of Massachusetts Bay, converted into the imperson- ation, or great federal representative of the twenty-six States, including Jonathan's own five particular States, New Hamp- shire, Connecticut, New England, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. But Major Jack and Uncle Sam of Boston (mortal Sam) both sleep with their forefathers, if they ever had any, leaving only their names behind; glorious Jack being famous in story, and Uncle Sam's initials, U. S., being wedded to E. Pluribus unum, for better or worse, until the twenty-six stars of North America shall be separated by some violent effort of nature, or a general convulsion of Yankee Republicanism. But if Major Jack is never seen in propria persona, he is some- times represented by others, who prefer his name to their own. One of Mister Joseph Miller's jokes is of a fanatic, who gave thanks for being shown some relicts in a monastery, and added, 'This is the sixteenth head of John the Baptist I have seen in Italy.' A traveller in the United States is reminded of this Joe, and of King Dick's 'six Richmonds in the field,' by hearing of Major Jack Downing of American ubiquity, who is spread abroad and met with as a resident in most of the large towns and many of the quiet villages, and is moreover, one of the most witty correspondents of that many-headed monster, the Public Press. . . . The military are for a minute obstructed by six gaily-painted covered carts filled with mer- chandise, which their owners, the 'western merchants,' are "Letters from the Frontiers (186S), p. 335. See also p. 354. This is the first use of the term by an army officer that I have noted. 46 American Antiquarian Society. [April, carrying home; one 'fresh spring-water' locomotive from Long Island, an 'American ginger champagne ' waggon, and a dirty cart carrying the mail of 'U. S. ' (Uncle Sam, or United States)."*^ In 1839 Marryat wrote : " I fell in with Major F , with whom I had been previously acquainted, who informed methat he was about to send a detach- ment of troops from Green Bay to Fort Winnebago, across the Wisconsin territory. As this afforded me an opportunity of seeing the country, which seldom occurs, I availed myself of an offer to join the party. The detachment consisted of about one hundred recruits, nearly the whole of them Canada patriots, as they are usually called, who, having failed in taking the provinces from John Bull, were fain to accept the shilling from uncle Sam. "*^ Having thus traced the history of Uncle Sam from its inception in 1813 down to 1840, previous to which no example has hitherto been cited, let us now turn our atten- tion to the origin of the term. Three explanations have been advanced. Nearly the entire third page of the Boston Sunday Herald of August 9, 1903, was filled with an article and illustrations on the "Nova Scotia Home of Uncle Sam. Origin of his Odd Costume. Sam Slick of Slickville, the Product of Judge Haliburton's Pen, and his Sayings." The writer said: "Strange as it may seem, one must go beyond the borders of the United States to find the birthplace of 'Uncle Sam.' " Then followed a description of Windsor, where Judge Haliburton was born. The notion is apparently based wholly on the pseudonym assumed by Judge Hali- burton — "Sam Slick." This newspaper yarn does not, of course, deserve serious consideration, and may be dis- missed with the remark that Thomas Chandler Haliburton, having been born December 17, 1796, was less than sixteen years old at the outbreak of the war with England, and that it was not until 1835 that he employed the pseudonym of "Sam Slick. "»» "Bentley's Miscellany, IV, 43, 294. *' Diary in America, II, 42, 43. " The Clockmaker; or the Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, first appeared in the columns of the Nova Scotian in 1835-1836, and was first published in book form at Halifax in 1837. In a conversation supposed to have taken place 1908.] Uncle Sam. 47 The most popular explanation of the origin of Uncle Sam first appeared in print, so far as I have been able to ascertain, in John Frost's Book of the Navy, published in 1842. It did not originate with Frost, and no doubt he obtained it from a newspaper. It is as follows:^'* " Origin of ' Uncle Sam. ' "Much learning and research have been exercised in tracing the origin of odd names, and odd sayings, which, taking their rise in some trifling occurrence or event, easily explained or well understood for a time, yet, in the course of years, becoming between Edward Everett and Sam Slick, the latter remarked: "Well, I don't know, said I, but somehow or another, I guess you'd found preaching the best speculation in the long run; them are Unitarians pay better than Uncle Sam (we call, said the Clockmaker, the American public Uncle Sam, as you caii the British, John Bull)" (The Clockmaker, second edition. Concord, 1838, p. 43). Mr. Robert G. Haliburton relates this anecdote of Judge Haliburton: "On his arrival in London, the son of Lord Abinger (the famous Sir James Scarlett) who was confined to his bed, asked him to call on his father, as there was a question which he would like to put to him. When he called, his Lordship said, 'I am convinced that there is a veritable Sara Slick in the flesh now selling clocks to the Bluenoses. Am I right?' 'No,' replied the Judge, 'there is no such person. He was a pure accident. I never intended to describe a Yankee clockmaker or Yankee dialect; but Sam Slick slipped into my book before I was aware of it, and once there he was there to stay'" (in Haliburton: a Centenary Chaplet, Toronto, 1897, pp. 25, 26). ""Book of the Navy, pp. 297. 298. The story occurs in the "Naval Anecdotes" in the Appendix. Some of the stories and songs in this Appendix appear in the Supplement to Nilss' Register, 1816, IX; but the Wilson story is not there. As an illustration of the extraordinary changes undergone in repetition, I give the story as it was printed in 1870 by Brewer in his Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: "Sam. Uncle Sam. The United States government. Mr. Frost tells us that the inspectors of Elbert Anderson's store on the Hudson were Ebenezer and his uncle Samuel Wilson, the latter of whom superintended in person the workmen, and went by the name of 'Uncle Sam.' The stores were marked E.A. — U.S. (^Elbert An- derson, United States), and one of the employers being asked the meaning, said U. S. stood for 'Uncle Sam.' The joke took, and in the War of Independence the men carried it 'with them, and it became stereotyped" (p. 783). Brewer goes on to say: " To stand Sam. To be made to pay the reckoning. This is an Americanism, and arose from the letters U. S. on the knapsacks of the soldiers. The government of Uncle Sam has to pay or 'stand Sam' for all. (See above.)" In 1871 DeVere wrote: "In the army, it -seems, even this designation [i. e. Uncle Sam] was deemed too full and formal, and, as early as the year 1827, it became a familiar saying among soldiers, to stand Sam, whenever drinks or refreshments of any kind had to be paid for. As they were accustomed to see Uncle Sam. pay for all their wants, to stand Sam, became to their minds equivalent to the ordinary slang phrase: to stand treat" (p. 251). In 1891 J. Maitland said: "Sam, 'to stand Sam' (Amer.), to stand treat" (American Slang Dictionarj', p. 229). And in 1891 J. M. Di.von wrote: "Sam. — To stand Sam — to entertain friends; to pay for refresh- ments. U. Sam is a contraction for 'Uncle Sam,' a jocular name for the U. S. Government. The phrase, therefore, originally means to pay all expenses, as the Government does" (Dictionary of Idiomatic English Phrases, p. 282). Brewer's statement, having been adopted by several writers, requires consideration. As 48 Arnerican Antiquarian Society. [April, involved in mystery, assume an importance equal at least to the skill and ingenuitj' required to explain or trace them to their origin. 'The Swan with two necks' — 'The Bull and Mouth' — 'All my eye, Betty Martin,' and many others, are of this character — and who knows but, an hundred years hence, some 'learned commentator' may puzzle his brain to furnish some ingenious explanation of the origin of the national appella- tion placed at the head of this article. To aid him, therefore, in this research, I will state the facts as they occurred under my own eye. "Immediately after the declaration of the last war with England, Elbert Anderson, of New-York, then a Contractor, visited Troy, on the Hudson, where was concentrated, and where he purchased, a large quantity of pro\isions — beef, a matter of fact, not only is the phrase "to stand Sam" — meaning "to be answerable for," "to become surety for," "to pay the reckoning," or "to pay for the drinks, " — not an Americanism, but it has never, so far as I know, even been employed in this country. The words "Sam" and "Sammy" have been used in various senses in English dialects for a hundred and thirty years, an instance dated 1777 being recorded in the English Dialect Dictionary. To the examples of "upon my Sam," an exple- tive, quoted in the same work from Frank's Nine Days (1879), p. 12, and Zack's On Trial (1899), p. 220, may be added another from R. Marsh's Tom Ossington's Ghost (1900), p. 216. "Sammy," meaning "foolish, silly," was recognized as early as 1823 in Pierce Egan's edition of Grose's Classical Dictionary; and examples dated 1837 and 1843 are quoted in Farmer and Henley's Slang and its Analogues (1903). The expression "to stand Sam" or "to stand Sammy" is recognized in Halliwell's Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words (1847), in Wright's Diction- ary of Obsolete and Provincial English (1857), in Hotten's Dictionary of Modern Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words (1859), in Barrfere and Leland's Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant (1890), in Farmer and Henley's Slang and its Analogues (1903), and in the English Dialect Dictionary. "Landlady," wrote Moncrieff in 1823, "serve them with a glass of tape, all round; and I'll stand Sammy" (Tom and Jerry, III, 5). Besides this extract. Farmer and Henley quote others from Ainaworth's Rookwood (1834), Hindley's Cheap Jack (1876), Black's White Heather (1886), Henley's Villon's Good-Night (1887), Licensed Victuallers' Gazette (1890), and Milliken's 'Arry Ballads (1890); and to these may be added others from Punch, August 20, 1881, LXXXI, 75, and from W. De Morgan's Joseph Vance (1906), p. 465. Every known example is from a British author. During the ascendancy of the Know-Nothing party, however, the word "Sam" was used in this country for a brief period. "The allusion," wrote Farmer in 1889, "is to Uncle Sam, the national sobriquet, the Know Nothings claiming that in a nation mostly made up of immigrants, only native-born citizens should possess and exercise privileges and powers" (Americanisms Old and New, p. 470). "The name," said H. F. Reddall in 1892, "contains, of course, an allusion to 'Uncle Sam,' the personification of the government of the United States" (Fact, Fancy, and Fable, p. 452). A few examples may be given. In a letter dated Randolph, Pennsylvania, July 14, 1855, a correspondent said: "I take it for granted that you are with us heart and hand in the new movement known as 'Know Somethings;' but I believe quite as readily recognized under the Yankee cognomen, 'Jonathan.' The order is fully organized in this State, and is progressing finely. All the secret organiza- tions therefore of this character are blended, and E. Pluribus Unum. The ' Sams ' are going over en masse, and although some of our election returns may be credited to Sam, yet I assure you that all candidates elect are the workmanship of Jonathan. 1908.] Uncle Sam. 49 pork, &c. The inspectors of these articles at that place were Messrs. Ebenezer and Samuel Wilson. The latter gentleman (invariably known as 'Uncle Sam') generally superintended in person a large number of workmen, who, on this occasion, were employed in overhauling the provisions purchased by the contractor for the army. The casks were marked E, A. — U. S. This work fell to the lot of a facetious fellow in the employ of the Messrs. Wilson, who, on being asked by some of his fellow-workmen the meaning of the mark (for the letters U. S., for United States, were then almost entirely new to them,) said 'he did not know, unless it meant Elbert Anderson and Uncle Sam' — alluding exclusively, then, to the said 'Uncle Sam' Wilson. The joke took among the workmen, passed currently; and 'Uncle Sam' himself being present, was occa- Sam is dead! Plucked up by the rootsi Buried in cottonl " (Kansas Herald of Freedom, August 4, 1855, p. 4—3). On February 28, 1856, Congressman Samuel Carruthers wrote: "I went twice (and but t'n'ice), into their [Know-Nothing] councils. I 'saw Sam.' It took two visits to see him all over. I made them. I saw enough and determined never to see his face again" (in H. J. Desmond's Know-Nothing Party, 1905, p. 82). In 1858 Governor Wise of Virginia wrote to a committee of the Tammany Society: "As to your other motto — 'Civil and Religious Liberty' — ours was saved by the Virginia Democracy in 1855. We struck the dark lantern out of the hands of ineffable Sam, and none now are found so poor as ' hurrah! ' for him" (New York Tribune, January 11, 1858, p. 2-6). In 1905 H. J. Desmond remarked: " Those inducted into the first degree do not appear to have been informed as to the name of the order. They were brought into 'the august presence of Sam.' ... In Illinois the Know-Nothing order split into two factions, 'the Sams' insisting upon an anti-Catholic program and 'the Jonathans' proposing not to antagonize Catholics who owed no civil allegiance as distinguished from spiritual allegiance to the Pope. The Jonathans triumphed" (Know-Nothing Party, pp. 54, 103). Exactly what the Know-Nothings meant by "Sam" is not apparent from these extracts; but fortunately the question need not further detain us. One more statement may be considered here. In 1882 A. S. Palmer remarked: "Sambo, the ordinary nickname for a negro, often mistaken as a pet name formed from Sam, Samuel, ... is really borrowed from his Spanish appellation zambo, ... A connexion was sometimes imagined perhaps with Uncle Sam, a poptilar name for the United States" (Folk-Etymology, pp. 338, 339). It may be doubted whether any one has ever seriously advanced the notion that Sambo is formed from Sam or Samuel, or that there is a connection between Sambo and Uncle Sam. "This Negre Sambo comes to me, " wrote R. Ligon in 1657, "and seeing the needle wag, desired to know the reason of its stirring" (True & Exact History of the Island of Barbados, pp. 49, 50, 54). Before 1700 we read of "Sambo negro helping caring goods" (New England Historical and Genealogical Register, XXXIV, 98). In the Boston News-Letter of October 2, 1704, an advertisement stated that "There is a Negro man taken up . . . calls himself Sambo" (p. 2-2). In 1716 "Sambo a negro servant" was married to Hagar (New England Historical and Genealogical Register. XXXVIII, 27). In the Boston Gazette of July 22, 1765, "a Negro Man named Sam6o " was advertised as a runaway (p. 4-3). In the Massachusetts Spy of February 17, 1813, we read: "The moan of the poor black man interrupted the sweet song of the mocking bird. We could not dis- tinguish all the voices that rose from the field, but the ear caught a fragment of the poor negro's song: — The lash of the driver forced a scream of anguish that moment from Sambo, and we heard no more" (p. 4-2). 50 American Antiquarian Society. [April, sionall}^ rallied by them on the increasing extent of his possessions. "Many of these workmen being of a character denominated 'food for powder,' were found shortly after following the recruiting drum, and pushing toward the frontier lines, for the double purpose of meeting the enemy, and of eating the provisions they had lately laboured to put in good order. Their old jokes of course accompanied them, and, before the first campaign ended, this identical one first appeared in print — it gained favour rapidly, till it penetrated and was recognized in every part of our country, and will, no doubt, continue so while the United States remain a nation. It originated pre- cisely as above stated; and the writer of this article distinctly recollects remarking, at the time when it first appeared in print, to a person who was equally aware of its origin, how odd it would be should this silly joke, originating in the midst of beef, pork, pickle, mud, salt, and hoop-poles, eventually become a national cognomen. " This story was introduced by Bartlett into his Dictionary of Americanisms in 1848; was repeated, with variations, by John F. Watson^^ in 1844 and again in 1846; was given, ®^ Watson's version of 1844 is as follows: "While on this subject, it may be as well to give a passing notice of another national name just growing into common use — we mean the term ' Uncle Sam, ' which first came into use in the time of the last war, with England; but the cause of its origin is still unknown to millions of our people. — The name grew out of the letters E. A. — U. S., marked upon the army provisions, barrelled up at Troy, for the contractor, Elbert Anderson, and implied the initials of his name, and U. S. for the United States. In happened that these provisions were inspected there by Samuel Wilson, usually called, among his hired men, ' Uncle Sam. ' One of his workmen, on being asked the meaning of the letters, E. A. — U.S., replied, archly, it meant Elbert Anderson and Uncle Sam — (Wilson). The joke went round merrily among the men, some of whom going afterwards to the frontiers, and there partaking of the very provisions they had assisted to pack and mark, still adhered to calling it Uncle Sam; and as every thing else of the army appoint- ments bore also the letters U. S., Uncle Sam became a ready name, first for all that appertained to the United States, and, finally, for the United States itself — a cognomen which is as likely to be perpetuated, as that of John Bull for old England" (Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, II, 335). Watson's version of 1846 differed slightly from the above: " Uncle Sam, is another national appellation applied to us. by ourselves, and which, as it is growing into popular use, and was first used at Troy, New York, it may be interesting to explain, to wit: The name grew out of the letters E. A. U. S. marked upon the army pro- visions, barrelled up at Troy, during the last war with England, under the contract of Elbert Anderson; and implied his name, and U. S. the United States. The inspector of those provisions, was Samuei Wilson, who was usually called by the people. Uncle Sam. It so happened that one of the workmen, being asked the mean- ing of the initials on the casks, &c., waggishly replied, they meant Elbert Anderson and Uncle Sam — Wilson. The joke took; and afterwards, when some of the same men were on the frontiers, and saw the same kind of provisions arriving to their use, they would jocosely say, here comes Uncle Sam. From thence it came to pass, 1908.] Uncle Sam. 51 also with variations, by Arthur James Weise^^ in 187G, in 1886, and again in 1891; and is now found in ahnost every that whenever they saw the initials U. S., on any class of stores, they were equally called Uncle Sam's; and finally, it came by an easy transition, to be applied to the United States itself" (Annals and Occurrences of New York City and State, p. 243). The bibliography of Watson's books on Philadelphia and New York requires a note. In 1S30 he published, in one volume, Annals of Philadelphia, being a Collec- tion of Memoirs, Anecdotes & Incidents of the City and its Inhabitants from the Days of the Pilgrim Founders. (Collation: Title, 1 p.; Copyright, 1 p.; Ad- vertisement, pp. iii, iv; Preface, pp. v-vii; Contents, pp. viii-xii; Annals of Philadelphia, pp. 1-740; Appendix: containing Olden Time Researches & Reminiscences, of New York City, pp. 1-78.) In 1832 he published Historic Tales of Olden Time: concerning the Early Settlement and Advance- ment of New York City and State. In 1833 he published Historic Tales of Olden Time, concerning the Early Settlement and Progress of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. In 1844 he published, in two volumes. Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, in the Olden Time; being a Collection of Memoirs, Anecdotes, and Incidents of the City and its Inhabitants, and of the Earliest Settlements of the inland part of Pennsylvania, from the Days of the Founders. This work was copy- righted in 1843, though the title page bears the date 1844. In the advertisement, which is dated July, 1842, Watson says: "The reader will please observe, that this work having been closed in Manuscript, in 1842, that therefore, all reference to any given number of years back, respecting things passed or done so many 'years ago,' is to be understood as counting backward from the year 1842" (p. xi). In 1846 he published Annals and Occurrences of New York City and State, in the Olden Time. In 1857 he published, in two volumes, Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, in the Olden Time. This edition contains some matter not in the 1844 edition. Finally, in 1877, Willis P. Hazard published, in three volumes, the Annals of Phila- delphia and Pennsylvania, the first two volumes being identical with the 1857 edition of Watson's work, the third volume an addition by Hazard. The Uncle Sam story first appeared in the 1844 edition of Annals of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania (II, 335); and in the 1846 edition of Annals and Occurrences of New York City and State, in the Olden Time (p. 243), though the two accounts, as seen above, differ somewhat. °^In 1876 Mr. Weise gave the following account: "Among the well known citi- zens of Troy in 1812, was Samuel Wilson. Being one of the first settlers, and besides having a kind and benevolent disposition, he won the esteem and affection of every- body in the village, and was more generally designated as Uncle Sam than by his proper name. It is related that on one occasion his youngest son wandered away from home and was lost. A gentleman found him crying in a strange place, and asked him whose boy he was, and received for an answer, that he was Uncle Sam's boy. By this appellation the father was readily recognized and he was returned to his parents. During the military operations along the northern border in the war of 1812, Samuel and Ebenezer Wilson were engaged in an extensive slaughtering business, employing about one hundred men, and were slaughtering weekly more than one thousand head of cattle. During this year, he and his brother received a contract from Elbert Anderson, Jr., an army contractor, to supply the troops stationed at Greenbush with beef, 'packed in full bound barrels of white oak.' Samuel Wilson was also appointed at this time Inspector of beef for the army, and was accustomed in this line of duty to mark all the barrels of meat passing his inspection with the abbreviated title U. S. of the United States. In the army at the cantonment at Greenbush, there were a number of soldiers who had enlisted in Troy, and to whom 'Uncle Sam' and his business were well known. The beef received from Troy, they always alluded to as Uncle Sam's beef, and the other soldiers without any inquiry began to recognize the letters U. S. as the initial designation of Uncle Sam. A contractor from the northern lines strengthened this impression 52 American Antiquarian Society. [April, book of reference.^^ Before submitting the story to critical examination, let us see who Anderson and the Wilsons were. Elbert Anderson, Jr., of whom we have already caught thereafter, when, purchasing a large quantity of beef in Troy, he advertised that he had received a supply of Uncle Sam's beef of a superior quality. The name 'Uncle Sam,' a few only knowing its derivation, became in a little while the recognized familiar designation of the United States, and is now as well known to the world as is the appellation John Bull" (History of the City of Troy, p. 91). Mr. Weise's version of 1891, differing somewhat from the above, is as follows: " Among the contractors supplying tlje Army of the North with provisions was Elbert Anderson, jr., who, on October 1st, advertised in the Troy and Albany news- papers for proposals for 'two thousand barrels of prime pork and three hundred bairels of prime beef,' to be delivered to him in the months of January, February, March, and April, at Waterford, Troy, Alliany, and New York. Ebenezer and Samuel Wilson, who were then extensively engaged in slaughtering cattle in the village, contracted to furnish him a quantity of beef 'packed in full-bound barrels of white oak. ' From time to time they delivered it at the camp at Greenbush, where the soldiers from Troy designated it as 'Uncle Sam's, ' implying that it was furnished by Samuel Wilson, whom they and other people of the village were accus- tomed to call ' Uncle Sam. ' The other recruits, thinking that the term was applied to the letters U. S., stamped upon the barrels by the government inspector of beef, began using the appellation 'Uncle Sam' figuratively for the United States, in the same way that the name 'John Bull' is used to designate the English nation" (Troy's One Hundred Years, p. 76). Mr. Weise also gave the story in his City of Troy and its Vicinity (1886), p. 321. '^ These of course need not be specified. In the Boston Daily Advertiser of April 12, 1902, was printed an article headed "Origin of the Term Uncle Sam. A Story that is Vouched for by Rev. G. F. Merriam — The Original 'Uncle Sam' House." It is in part as follows: "Sterling. Apr. 11. — Rev. G. F. Merriam of Mt. Kisco, N. Y., who is in Sterling as a guest of his son and daughter, told a story of the origin of the term ' Uncle Sam, ' as applied to the United States. He said a farm in Mason, N. H., belonging to the estate of Mrs. Persis Wilson, who died recently, and which estate he was engaged in settling, was the birthplace and boyhood home of Uncle Samuel Wilson, who was the original 'Uncle Sam.' The story, vouched for by Rev. Mr. Merriam, ... is this: — Samuel Wilson was one of a family of 12 children, . . and he and his younger brother, Edward, located when they were young men, in Albany, N. Y., and at the time of the war of 1812, became extensive contractors for government supplies. They were at this time well known in the vicinity of Albany as 'Uncle Sam' and 'Uncle Ned.' The packages of sup- plies when sent away to United States government supply depots, were marked 'U.S.,' and people sometimes questioned what those magic letters stood for. They were told that as the packages came from Uncle Sam Wilson, they of course meant 'Uncle Sam,' and from this little thing the name spread, until the government itself was referred to as Uncle Sam. The farm where these men lived as boys, fell into the hands of another brother, Capt. Thomas Wilson, and then to his son. Deacon J. B. Wilson, who died several years since, and his widow, Mrs. Persis Wilson, lived there until her death last winter. Rev. Mr. Merriam was a particular friend of the family, and as executor is attending to the sale of the property. The house contains many relics . . . and many historic articles, the sale of which, Apr. 30, will doubtless attract many of the curiosity hunters. The original 'Uncle Sam' house is standing, although a new house has been erected near by, and everything is to be sold" (p. 4-6). Edward Wilson was older than either Ebenezer or Samuel. A letter addressed in 1902 to the Rev. Mr. Merriam brought no reply. 1908.] Uncle Sam. 53 a glimpse,^* need not detain us long. The following adver- tisement appeared in several Albany, Troy, and New York newspapers in 1812 and 1813 : "Proposals for Beef and Pork. ^'QEALED Proposals will be received through the medium O of the Post-Offices at Albany and New- York, directed to the subscriber, until the 25th of October, for 2000 barrels PRIME PORK and 3000 barrels PRIME BEEF, to be delivered in the months of January, February, March and April, at Waterford, Troy, Albany and New- York. The whole to be put up in full bound barrels of white oak. No proposals need be offered for less than one hundred barrels. 20 per cent will be paid in advance at the time of executing the contract, 20 per cent on the first day of January, and 20 per cent the first day of March, the remainder on the first day of May, 1813. The Contractor reserves to himself the privilege of choosing his inspector in the counties the provisions are put up in — The preference will be given to those whose reputation and security will insure the faithful compliance of the terms of the contract. "ELBERT ANDERSON, Jun. " October 1st, 1812. Army Contractor. "^^ See p. 32, note 47, above. ^Albany Gazette, October 5, 1812, p. 3-5. The same advertisement appeared in the Troy Post, of October 6, p. 3-4, of October 13, p. 3-4, and of October 20, pp. 3-4; and in the New York Herald of January 23, 1813, p. 4-4, though in the last the advertisement was dated October 17. I have noted several other references to Anderson. In the New York Evening} Post of October 10, 1812, appeared the following: "*S°"Col. Mapes and the officers under his command, in behalf of their men, return thanks to Elbert Anderson, .Tunr. Esq. for his liberal present of 100 bu.shels of Potatoes, 2 boxefi of Chocolate, and 1 box of Tea— also, a waggon load of Potatoes from Saml. Hobart and Stephen Striker, on behalf of the inhabitants of Gravesend; ..." (p. 2-5). In the Albany Gazette of December 24, 1812, was printed a letter from Anderson himself (p. 3-4): "Messrs. Websters and Skinners, "A statement having appeared in your paper, purporting to be the substance of a declaration made by Col Thorn, that 'two or three thousand barrels of pro- visions have been deposited within a mile and a half of the Canada line. ' As that statement may mislead the public and invite the enemy to encroachments, I beg leave to state thro your paper, that there is not more provisions deposited or left near the line than is sufficient for the subsistence of the men there stationed for the winter: the surplus being removed, to my certain knowledge, to Burlington, and other places of presumed safety, and I believe the same care and prudent pre- caution has been taken as respects the munitions of war that were at Champlain. "ELBERT ANDERSON, Jun. "Albany, Dec. 19, 1812. Army Contractor." 54 American Antiquarian Society. [April, On November 23, 1757, Edward Wilson, said to have been born July 6, 1734,^^ at West Cambridge (now Arlington), Massachusetts, married Lucy Francis of Medford.^^ At West Cambridge were born Ebenezer Wilson on August 18, 1763, and Samuel Wilson on September 13, 1768. About 1780 Edward Wilson took his family to Mason, New Hamp- shire, and later he went to Troy.^^ Ebenezer and Samuel Wilson removed to Troy about 1789 and soon became prominent in the life of the young town. In September, 1805, the following advertisement appeared in Troy newspapers: "SLAUGHTERING & PACKING "The undersigned having two large and convenient SLAUGHTER-HOUSES, beg leave to acquaint their cus- tomers and others, that they will be enabled to kill, cut and pack 150 head of Cattle per day; and, from their local situation, pledge themselves to accommodate those who may favour them with a call, on terms as low as can be obtained in the State. "They have on hand a large supply of BARRELS and SALT, which will be disposed of on the lowest terms. "All those who shall be under the necessity of waiting 24 hours for their Cattle to be slaughtered, shall have them pas- tured free of expence. E. & S. WILSON. " Troy, September 17, 1805. "•' In the Troy Post of October 6, 1812, appeared this para- graph, which may or may not refer to the Wilsons: "We are informed that one house in this town has paid Twenty Thousand Dollars during the last month for transport- ing provisions, flour, whiskey, &c from this place to Platts- burgh, for the use of the army of the North" (p. 3-3). ** This statement is made in J. B. Hill's History of Mason (1858), p. 209; but there is no record of his birth in the Vital Records of Arlington (1S04). *'Lucy Francis was born March 12, 1738-39 (Vital Records of Medford, 1907, p. 60), and died at Mason, December 8, 1835. *' For the Wilsons, see, besides the books by Mr. Weise cited above. Hill's History ot Mason, p. 209; Cutter's History of Arlington (1880), p. 323; Vital Records of Arlington, pp. 47, 167. Edward and Lucy Wilson had thirteen children. ^'Northern Budget, September 17, 1805, p. 3-4; September 24, p. 4-1; October 1 , p. 4-2. The same advertisement, except that the date was changed to September 24, appeared in the Troy Gazette of September 24, 1805, p. 3-4. 1908.] Uncle Sam. 55 In the same paper of June 1, 1813, under the head of "HOGS wanted," was printed this advertisement: "BoARDMAN, Mann & Co. wish to purchase One Hundred and Twenty thrifty Barrow SHOTES, for which Cash will be paid on delivery at their Stillhouse in Troy. For further particulars inquire at the store of WILSON, MANN & Co." (p. 2-1). In the Troy Post of September 28, 1813 (p. 3-4), appeared the following: " NOTICE "The Copartnership of the subscribers, under the firm of Wilson, Mann & Co. is by mutual Consent this day dissolved. All persons indebted to, or that have any demands against said firm are requested to call on James Mann for settlement, who is duly authorized to settle the same. " Ebenezer Wilson "James Mann "Samuel Wilson "Troy, Sept 28, 1813. " N. B. The Business in future ^dll be conducted by James Mann at the store lately occupied by Wilson, Mann & Co.""° Edward Wilson, the father of the two brothers, died at Troy, June 17, 1816; but neither the Troy nor the Albany papers contained an obituary notice.^^^ Ebenezer Wilson died July 22, 1825, the following notice appearing in the New York Commercial Advertiser: "New York, Saturday, July 23. "Died— Suddenly, yesterday afternoon, Mr. Ebenezer Wilson, Sen. aged 63. Mr. W. has for years been extensively engaged in business as an inspector and packer of Beef both in Troy, "» The notice was repeated in the Troy Post of October 12. 19. and 26. The busi- ness of the firm was dry goods and groceries. In spite of the dissolution of partnership, the advertisement of Wilson, Mann & Co., dated May 7. 1813. appeared in the Troy Post of October 12. 1813. James Mann, who continued the business, was a son of Benjamin Mann of Keene, New Hampshire. Several years ago I had a correspondence with Mrs. Louise Benson a descendant of Benjamin Mam,. Mrs. Benson merely spoke of the existence in her family of the tradition about the WUson story, but was unable to give me anv new facts. "'The Troy Post of June 17. 1817, (p. 3-3). contained a notice of the mamage on June 9 of Elizabeth Wilson, a daughter of Ebenezer Wilson, and the Rev. James Ogilvie of New York. 56 American Antiquarian Society. [April, and this cit3\ He was an ornament to the christian church, and a worthy, industrious, and excellent man in all the duties of life."^'' In the Troy Director>' (I, 61) for 1829, the first published, is found this entry: "Wilson, Samuel, ferry continued," — which, Miss Jessie F. Wheeler wTites me,^^^ ''means, I suppose, Ferr)^ Street continued up the hill." Samuel Wilson died at Troy on July 31, 1854. Of the many notices which appeared in the Troy papers, the following, signed "Trojan," is the most interesting : "Death of the late Samuel Wilson. "When an indi\'idual passes from us, who has been long known, and whose business connections have been very exten- sive, it is proper that some thing more than a mere passing notice should be taken of his death, as well as a just allusions [sic] to some of the principal acts of his life. The subject of this brief • notice was an early pioneer in the settlement of this place, commencing in 1793, and he took an active part in the extension of all the business facilities adopted by himself and his associat-es, and was himself engaged in, and prosecuted successfully, at least four distinct kinds of business. emplo>ang about 200 hands constanth^ while he took the over-sight of each particular branch, in connection with his brother Eben. — He prosecuted the mercantile business in connection with slooping; the brick-making business very extensively; the distillery business; farming, on a pretty large scale, and the slaughtering business on an extensive plan. During the war of 1812 he supplied the army verj' generally, especially at the north, from his extensive yards. His tact for managing laborers '"Quoted in the Troy Sentinel, July 26, 1825. p. 3-4. Mr. Barton kindly sent me the same notice copied from the Albany Argue of July 29, 1825. In his Collections on the History of Albany, published in 1867, Joel Munsell quoted (II, 479), under the head of "Beef Packing in Albany," an article taken from Knickerbocker contain- ing this passage: "In 1830 Albany was not only a great cattle packing centre, but the same was true of Troy, Waterford, Lansingburgh and Catskill. Uncle Eb. Wilson was at Catskill; Perry and Judson at Albany: C. P. Ives, Lansingburgh; and Capt. Turner at Batestown, near Troy. " When this passage was written it is impossible to say, as Munsell does not specify the volume or date of Knickerbocker, a magazine which began publication in 1833. As, however, the writer specifies the year 1830, it is certain that his "Uncle Eb. Wilson" was not identical with our Ebenezer Wilson; but the coincidence in name is worth recording. "" In the Ubrary of our Society and in that of the New York Historical Society I have found various Troy and Albany newspapers, but those files were very incom- plete. At my request, Miss Wheeler of the Troy Public Library searched for me the files owned by that library; and I am indebted to her for several valuable and interesting extracts. 1908.] Uncle Sam. 57 was very peculiar; he would always say 'Come boys,' instead of 'go,' and thereby secured a greater amount of labor than ordinary men. — His success in business he mainly attributed to a strict system in his plans, and the constant habit of early rising, and to this habit he undoubtedly owed his uniform good health, and his useful life. He had eight brothers and two sisters all of whom were tenacious of this habit, and all but two are now dead, but their ages averaged full 80 years each. In his political creed he was strictly Republican and was warmly attached to the Democratic party, and in the election of General Jackson to the Presidency, he took a very active part, serving as a standing chairman of the party both at his first and second election. In his religious creed he was tolerant to all. He was united to no church, but at the age of three score years his mind became deeply imbued with religion, and feeling his responsibility to his Maker, he solemnly dedicated himself to God and united with the Presbyterian Church in this city. — His walk and conversation since the solemn transition, evinced the sincerity of his profession, and he has left a pleasing assurance both to the church and his friends that he now ' Rests from his labors and his works follow him. "'^°* *"* Troy Daily Budget, August 2, 1854, p. 2-3. Other notices of Samuel Wilson appeared in the Troy papers. "4^ Died — SAMUEL WILSON, aged eighty eight years, died this morning at his residence 76 Ferry street. The deceased was one of the oldest inhabitants of this city. He came to Troy about the year 1793, and consequently had resided here 61 years. He was about the last of those termed 'first settlers.' Mr. W. purchased the lands east of the city, now owned by Messers. VAIL and WARREN, and occupied by them for farming purposes till about 1820. ^ He then sold them all, except about four acres, upon which his present residence stands. He has been one of the most active business men of the community, and we can truly say that he was an honest and upright man" (Troy Daily Times, July 1, p. 2-3). " tS' Samuel B. Wilson, another of our oldest citizens, died at his residence on Ferry st. hill this morning. He was about 80 or 90 years of age " ( Troy Daily Budget, July 1, p. 2-4). "B." is evidently a printer's error. " 9^ Samuel WiUon, aged 88, died yesterday morning at his residence 76 Ferry street. Mr. Wilson was one of the oldest inhabitants of the city" (Troy Daily Traveller, August 1, p. 2-2). "Died. On Monday Morning, Samuel Wilson, in the S8th year of his age. His relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend his funeral this (Tuesday) afternoon at 3 o'clock, at his late residence. No. 76 Ferry-st. " ( Troy Daily Travel- ler, August, 1, p. 2-4). "Died. In this city, July 31, Mr. Samuel Wilson, aged 88 years. Funeral ser- vices will be held this (Tuesday) afternoon at 3 o'clock, at his late residence, 76 Ferry st." (Troy Daily Whig, August 1, p. 2-6). The hasty burial may have been due to the fact that cholera was then raging in Troy. See Troy Daily Traveller, August 2 and 4. It will be observed that in the above notices, wxitten for the Troy papers, there is no allusion to the Uncle Sam story. In the Albany Evening Journal of .August 1, 1854, appeared the following, which I copy from the New York Tribune of August 4: "'Uncle Sam.' — The death of Samuel Wilson, an aged, worthy and formerly 58 American Antiquarian Society. [April, Before returning to the story related by Frost, there is one further piece of evidence to be presented. Under date of Albany September 17, 1812, was printed in the Albany Gazette in September and October of that year an advertise- ment which was in part as follows : "SLAUGHTERING cfc INSPECTION. WILSON and KINNICUT, take this method to inform their friends and the public in general, that they have made considerable improvements in their Slaughter House in Albany, where they will put up Beef and Pork on as reason- able terms as any body in the state. "^''^ While I have been unable to identify the members of this firm of Wilson and Kinnicut, the advertisement is of interest; and it is certain that there was a Wilson family enterprising citizen of Troy, will remind those who were familiar with incidents of the War of 1812, of the origin of the popular subriequet [sic] for the 'United States.' Mr. Wilson, who waa an extensive packer, had the contract for supplying the northern army with beef and pork. He was everywhere known and spoken of as 'Uncle Sam, ' and the 'U.S. ' branded on the heads of barrels for the army were at first taken to be the initials for 'Uncle Sam' Wilson, but finally lost their local significance and became, throughout the army, the familiar term for ' United States. ' The Wilsons were among the earliest and most active citizens of Troy. ' Uncle Sam, ' who died yesterday, was 84 years old" (p. 3-6). The same notice was printed in the Troy Daily Budget of August 2, p. 3-3; and in the Troy Daily Whig of August 3, p. 3-2. In the New England Historical and Genealogical Register for October, 1854, was printed the following: "Wilson, Mr. Samuel, Troy, N. Y. 31 July, ce. 88. It was from this gentleman that the United States received the name of Uncle Sam. It came in this way, — Mr. Wilson had extensive contracts for supplying the army with pork and beef, in the war of 1812. He was then familiarly known as Uncle Sam Wilson. His brand upon his barrels was of course U. S. The transition from United States to Uncle Sam was so easy, that it was at once made, and the name of the packer of the U. S. provisions was immediately transferred to the government, and became famihar, not only through- out the army, but the whole country" (VIII, 377). ^'^ Albany GazeUe, September 24, 1812, p. 1-1; October 12, p. 1-1. The Troy papers of September and October, 1812, have been searched in vain for this advertisement. It is of course possible that the Wilson of the firm of Wilson and Kinnicut of Albany was Samuel Wilson of Troy, but it would be rash to assert their identity. The name Kinnicut does not appear in the Albany Directory for 1813, the first published. An advertisement dated Jtdy 9, 1805, in regard to "Fresh goods just received by Pierce & Kinnicut, " was printed in the Troy Northern Budget of Sep- tember 3, 1805 (p. 1-3); and in a previous issue of the same paper occurred the name of Robert S. Kinnicut. A notice, dated December 14, 1815, of the dissolution by mutual consent of partnership of the firm of R. S. Kinnicut and Zebina Sturtevant was printed in the Albany Register of June 7, 1816, (p. 1-3). In the Albany Direc- tory for 1813 appeared the name of "Sturdivant, Zebina, grocer" (Munsell's Annals of Albany, 1854, V. 89). 1908.] Uncle Sam. 59 in Albany and that one or more members of it were named Samuel.i^' If we compare the facts as brought out in these extracts with the story as related by Frost, it must be acknowledged that in many respects the latter is not inconsistent with the former. It has been proved that Anderson was a contractor; that Ebenezer and Samuel Wilson owned a slaughtering establishment; and that Ebenezer Wilson at least was an inspector.^*''^ If absolute proof is lacking that the Wilsons received contracts for the supply of beef, that Samuel Wilson was an inspector, and that Samuel Wilson was commonly called "Uncle Sam" Wilson, yet these statements are so extremely probable that their truth may well be conceded.^^*^ Moreover, the story is plausible and there is no a priori objection to be raised against it. On the other hand, certain facts mihtate strongly against the story. First, the nickname Uncle Sam, so far from springing into existence at the outbreak of the war, did not make its appearance until the war was half over. Sec- ondly, the absence of any trace of the story until 1842 — or a generation after the event — is ominous. Thirdly, a remarkable feature of the obituary notices of Samuel Wilson w^hich were written for the Troy newspapers deserves to be dwelt upon. Not one of them connected Samuel Wilson with Uncle Sam. It is true that the Uncle Sam story is found in two Troy papers, but in each case it was copied from an Albany paper.^"^ This fact, coupled with the '**The Albany Directory for 1813 contained the names of Ishmael Wilaon, laborer; Newman Wilson, teamster; Samuel Wilson, potter; and widow Martha Wilson, teacher. Samuel Wilson was a constable in the Second Ward. (Munsell's Annals of Albany, V. 47, 97.). Mrs. Jane Wilson, wife of Samuel Wilson, globe manufac- turer, died May 8, 1827. (Munsell's Annals of Albany, 1856, VII, 124.) Samuel Wilson, of the firm of James Wilson & Son, died at Schodack on August 29, 1830. (Munsell's Annals of Albany, 1858, IX, 215). ""See the obituary notice of Ebenezer Wilson, p. 55, above. I am indebted to Mr. Weise for courteous replies to several queries. He writes me: "The fact that the Wilsons received contracts for the supply of beef to the troops encamped at the cantonment at Greenbush, and that Samuel Wilson was an inspector, together with the information respecting the sites of the Wilson slaughtering houses in Troy, I obtained from old inhabitants of Troy intimately acquainted with the two brothers." Mr. Weise adds that the notes taken by him when preparing his various books on Troy are stored and so are inaccessible at present. '"•See p. 67, note 104, above. 60 American Antiquarian Society. [April, further fact that no book about Troy contained the story until 1876, seems to indicate that the popular story is not native to Troy."^ Fourthly, the statement that "the letters U. S., for United States, were then almost entirely new," is not only so preposterous as to be beyond behef, but can be proved to be untrue. As a matter of fact, the abbreviations U. S. or U. States, as also G. B. or G. Britain, were common early in the nineteenth century;^" and it would no more have been possible for men in 1813 to ask the meaning of the letters U. S. than would such an inquiry be possible now. Fifthly, the early evidence, while it may not be absolutely conclusive, not only fails to corroborate the Wilson story but strongly points to another conclusion; while the earliest known example of Uncle Sam is from a Troy paper, but without reference to Samuel Wilson. Sixthly, ""See The Trojan Sketch Book, edited by Miss Abba A. Goddard (1846); Hunt's Merchants Magazine for June, 1846, XIV, 515-523; D. O. Kellogg's City of Troy (1847); Hunt's Merchants Magazine for September, 1849, XXI, 298-305; John Woodworth's Reminiscences of Troy (1853, second edition in 1860). Mr. Weise's History of the City of Troy was published in 1876., "'"The army of the U.S." {Salem Gazette, January 21, 1812, p. 3-2). "An ambi- tious president . . . might march the militia . . . out of the U. S. and keep the whole of the regiilar force within" {Connecticut Courant, January 22, 1812, p. 3-4). "The Gull Traps which are now set through the U. States" {Columbian Centinel, February 19, 1812, p. 2-2). "Equipped at the expense of the U.S. " {Salem Gazette, July 31, 1812, p. 3-2). "The army of the U.S. " {Yankee, August 21, 1812, p. 3-2). "Which cost the U.S. five dollars to transport to Green- bush" (CoZuw6i;on Cen/tneZ, September 26, 1812, p. 2-2). "War . . . between the U.S. and G.B." {Columbian Centinel, December 19, 1812, p. 2-3). "Four regiments of U.S. troops" {Columbian Centinel, December 26, 1812, p. 2-3). "The enemies of the U. States" {New York Spectator, January 9, 1813, p. 2-5). "The President of the U. States" {National Intelligencer, January 12, 1813, p. 3-1). "The U. S. Senate" {New York Spectator, February 11, 1813, p. 1-1). "What shall we say of her conduct during the present war -with the U.S.?" {National Intelligencer, April 3, 1813, p. 3-4). "A regiment of U. S. troops" {Columbian Centinel, June 16, 1813, p. 2-4). "The Navy of the U.S." {Yankee, July 23, 1813, p. 3-1). "U.S. Law" {New England Palladium, August 31, 1813, p. 1-1). "Gen. Varnum, . . . (whose recent votes in the U. States' Senate shew, that he is beginning to reflect)" {New England Palladium, September 3, 1813). All these citations, which could be multiplied indefinitely, are of an earlier date than the first appearance of Uncle Sam. A few instances previous to 1812 may be given. "Major Rice of Hingham, we are informed, is appointed a Colonel in the U.S. army" {Columbian Centinel, October 27 1798, p. 2-4). "The President of the U. States" {Columbian Centinel, March 20, 1799, p. 2-2). "Christopher Gore, Esq. Commissioner of the U. S. at the Court of London" {Columbian Centinel, March 20, 1799, p. 2-4). "The Presi- dent of the U.S." {Columbian Centinel, March 14, 1807, p. 2-3). But while, as thus seen, the initials U. S. were perfectly familiar to Americans in 1812 and 1813, yet no doubt the war with England made them still more common. Attention may also be called to the example of "U.Sam" quoted on p. 37, above. 1908.] UTicle Sam. 61 the apparent fact that the nickname was at first used some- what derisively does not tend to confirm the popular yarn. Finally, in connection with the Wilson story, we must consider a stanza in a song said to have been sung about 1789. Much has been written about 'Hhe original Yankee Doodle song." The song thus generally spoken of begins with the line " Father and I went down to camp. " In Act I, Scene III, of Andrew Barton's "The Disappointment: Or, The Force of Credulity : A New American Comic Opera," printed in 1767, the air of Yankee Doodle made its first known appearance under that name.^^'^ When the British troops arrived at Boston in 1768 it was stated, under date of September 29 of that year, that "the Yarikey Doodle Song was the Capital Piece in their Band of Music; "^^^ and, much to the annoyance of the good people of Boston, the British persisted in playing the air at intervals for another seven years. As the "Father and I" song was written not earlier than 1775, obviously it could not have been "the original" Yankee Doodle song. *tn 1824, J. Farmer and J. B. Moore, believing that "the burlesque song. . .is passing into obHvion," gave "a copy of the song as it was printed thirty-five years since, and as it was troll'd in our Yankee circles of that day. "^^* As printed by Farmer and Moore, the song had eleven stanzas, the tenth being as follows: " Old uncle Sam. come there to change Some pancakes and some onions. For lasses cakes, to carry home To give his wife and young ones." That this version was actually printed in 1789 rests upon the assertion of Farmer and Moore. This Society owns a copy of "The Yankey's Return from Camp" which was "' Page 22. A copy of the opera in the Ridgway branch of the Library Company of Philadelphia has written in ink on the title page, "by Col. Thomas Forrest of Germantown. S." Who "S. " was, I do not know. John F. Watson also stated that "Mr. Forrest wrote a very humorous play, (which I have seen printed)" (Annals of Philadelphia. 1830, p. 232). "'.Veto York Journal, October 13, 1768, p. 2-2. ''* Collections, Historical and Miscellaneous; and Monthly Literary Journal, III, 158, 169. 62 American Antiquarian Society. [April, probably printed in 1813."^ The Boston Public Library- owns a copy, entitled "The Farmer and his Son's return from a visit to the Camp, "^^*^ which I believe to be earlier^" than the version in the library of this Society. In 1857 it was stated that "the verses commencing 'Father and I went down to camp,' were written by a gentleman of Con- necticut, a short time after Gen. Washington's last visit to New England. '"^^^ Now this visit was made in 1789, and, curiously enough, it was in that very year that RoyaU Tyler's play of "The Contrast" was acted; and in that play, published in 1790, the words made their earliest known appearance in print.^^^ The stanza quoted above is first "^ It i3 in a collection of Songs, BaUads, etc., in three volumes, presented to the Society by Isaiah Thomas in August, 1814, and stated by him to have been "Pur- chased from a Ballad Printer and Seller, in Boston, 1813. Bound up for Preser- vation — to shew what the articles of this kind are in vogue with the Vulgar at this time, 1814." In 1903 the Rev. Dr. Edward Everett Hale printed this version in his New England History in Ballads, pp. 116-120. *''My attention was called to this in 1901 by Mr. Worthington C. Ford, who kindly sent me a blue print of it. As the library officials have for years been unable to find the volume containing the original, my blue print is valuable. The title, and the fact that at the top of the broadside is a cut of a drummer and three soldiers, make me think that this version is older than the other. '" By earlier, I merely mean that it was printed earlier. The words of the two versions are practically identical. "' Historical Magazine, I, 92. *" The Contrast, Act III, Scene i, p. 45. For purposes of comparison, I give the first stanza. Tyler has it: "Father and I went up to camp. Along with Captain Goodwin; And there we saw the men and boys. As thick as hasty-pudding." The version owned by this Society reads: "Father and I went down to camp. Along with Captain Gooding, And there we see the men and boys, As thick as hast jTJudding. " The Farmer and Moore version is as follows: "Father and I went down to camp. Along with Captain Goodwin, Where we see the men and boys As thick as Ha.sty-piiddin. " It is of course possible that my blue print is earlier than 1789, but its date is purely conjectural. Dr. Hale writes: "An autograph note of Judge Dawes, of the Harvard class of 1777, addressed to my father, says that the author of the well-known lines was Edward Bangs, who graduated with him." It is curious that some (but not all) of the lines should have first been printed in a play written by a member of the Harvard class of 1776. 1908.] Uncle Sam. 63 found in the version of 1824 and is not in either of the three versions certainly printed in or before 1813. Hence we cannot, without better evidence, accept the Farmer and Moore stanza as antedating 1824. Yet it is perfectly possible that the stanza was written before the war of 1812,^^'' and if it was, the fact would seem to be all but fatal to the Wilson story. The third explanation of the origin of Uncle Sam is that the sobriquet was merely a jocular extension of the letters U. S. This explanation, like the Wilson story, rests purely on assumption. There is nothing in the least either unusual or remarkable in the process of abbreviating a term and then expanding it. In the amenities of political warfare in this country in 1855, it was considered the height of wit to dub a politician "D. D." and then expand the initials into something derogatory. In this way John Petitt became "Dirty Dog," Stephen A. Douglas became "Debauched Douglas," and David R. Atchison became "Drunken Davy."^^^ During the same period in England, we find the same manifestation. The London Transport Corps Regiment, which was formed in 1854 and 1855 for service in the Crimea, went by the nickname of the "London Thieving Company," When its name was changed in 1857 to Military Train, it was dubbed "Murdering Thieves," "Muck Tumblers," "Muck Train," and "Moke Train,"— the third a corruption of the last, said to have been due to the employment of Spanish mules instead of horses. ^'^^ "*In a song called Brother Jonathan, doubtless written in 1798, when war with France was thought imminent, and printed in 1800 in The Nightingale; or Rural Songster (Dedham), p. 118, is found this stanza: "I think it's darned wrong, be sure. Because we us'd 'em clever; An' uncle vums a sailor works Much harder than a weaver." Throughout the war of 1812, song after song was written to the air of Yankee Doodle. '"An article headed "The D.D.'s, " which was printed in the Kansas Herald of Freedom o( August 25, 1855, begins as follows: "The Missouri Democrat has a very fine article under this head. It says the politicians have lately taken upon them- selves the liberty of conferring the degree of D.D. upon its voters with a most pro- miscuous irreverence" (p. 2-3). It states that Thomas H. Benton was responsible for the nicknames applied to Petitt and Douglas. "'Notes and Queries, Ninth Series, V, 380, 439 (May 12, June 2, 1900); Tenth Series, VII, 257 (March 30, 1907). 64 American Antiquarian Society. [April, I can well remember how, as a boy, I used to wonder whether General Grant had actually been christened U. S. and whether those letters stood for the United States. * I have since learned that Grant was called not only "United States" Grant, but also "Uncle Sam" Grant, "Unconditional Surrender" Grant, and "United we Stand" Grant.^^^ .During the past decade the South African War has enabled us to observe these nicknames in the very making, A London newspaper of January 14, 1900, asserted that "by a facetious adaptation of initials as Roman numerals [C. I.V.], the City of London Lnperial Volunteers, now on their way to the front, achieve the title of the 104th, an appellation likely to commend itself to the regiment. "^^^ Nicknames have a way of disappearing rapidly, but this particular one seems to have stuck.^^'^ But it was by no means the only one in which the C. I. V. rejoiced. Those who opposed the war invented "Chamberlain's Innocent Victims," while Tommy Atkins converted the initials into "Can I Venture?" A more unpleasant nickname was "Covered In Vermin. "^^^ The Imperial Yeomanry were collectively called "Innocent Youths. "^'^ Does the history of the term Uncle Sam, now given for the first time, tend to support or to overthrow this explana- tion of the origin of the sobriquet? While the initials U. S. were well known in 1812 and 1813, yet no doubt the war made them still more common. "The letters U. S.," explained the Troy Post of September 7, 1813, "on the government waggons, &c are supposed to have given rise "*See W. F. G. Shanks's Personal Recollections of distinguished Generals (1866), p. 117. "* Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper, quoted in Notes and Queries, Ninth Series, V. 104 (February 10, 1900). "" Notes and Queries, Ninth Series, X, 503 (December 27, 1902). '*" Notes and Queries, Ninth Series, X, 503 (December 27, 1902). *" Notes and Queries, Ninth Series, X, 503 (December 27, 1902). By a still further exercise of humor, an article in an English journal on the London "Bobby" is headed "Robert Again" (Black and White, July 25, 1903, XXVI, 110); while the London Times converts Tommy Atkins into "Mr. Thomas Atkins." Sim- ilarly, Uncle Sam becomes Uncle Samuel, of which an instance dated 1816 has already been given. (See p. 41, above.) "Our good Uncle Samuel," -nTote General Randolph B. Marcy in 1872 (Bortler Reminiscences, p. 66). A letter which appeared in the Philadelphia Aurora of October 14, 1812, was signed "Johannes Taurus" (p. 1-1). 1908.] Uncle Sam.. 65 to it."^^^ On October 1, 1813, a writer spoke of "Uncle Sam, the now popular explication of the U. S."^^^ By implication it may be inferred that this was the view of Paulding in 1831,^^"'^ of Abdy in 1835,^^^ and of an unknown Englishman in 1838.^^"^ It was stated at the beginning of this paper that the history of nicknames usually follows one general course,— that those who, at the time of origin, perhaps know the real explanation do not record it, and that later people begin guessing. Must it not be admitted that Uncle Sam is an exception to the rule? that those who first used the sobriquet did record its origin? and that the explanation they gave is the true explanation? ^^ See p. 33, above. *'*See p. 34, above. '** See p. 43, above. ^*' See p. 44, above. '^' See p. 45, above. It need hardly be pointed out that the word "uncle" ha.s long been employed in this country. In a play written in 1815, David Humphreys made Doolittle, the Yankee hero, thus soliloquize about the Countess St. Luc, another character in the play: "I like her tu; though she is so tarnation strange and sad, by what I larnt jest now. She's quite a decent, clever woman— ladyship, I shood say; about as nice and tidy a crittur as ever trod shews '-leather. (Looking at the glass as he passes, and admiring himself) Well! my fortin's made. I woodn't give that {smpping his fingers) to call the President and all the Congress ' Uncle!' Why, I am as fine as a fiddle" (Act I, p. 39). On September 3, 1S38, Hawthorne said: "The Revolutionary pen-sioners come out into the sunshine to make oath that they are still above ground. One, whom Mr. S saluted as 'Uncle John,' went into the bar-room, walking pretty stoutly by the aid of a long, oaken staff" (American Note-Books, 1883, I, 190). In 1853 Lowell wrote: "'Do you think it will rainT With the caution of a veteran auspex, he evaded a direct reply. 'Wahl, they du say it's a sign o' rain comin', said he. I discovered afterwards that my interlocutor was Uncle Zeb. Formerly, every New England town had its representative uncle. He was not a pawnbroker, but some elderly man who, for want of more defined family ties, had gradually assumed this avuncular relation to the community "(Moosehead Journal, Prose Works, 1890, I, 16). The Salem Gazette of June 13. 1815, contained a para- graph headed, "The Cogitations of Uncle John" (p. 3-2). It has already been pointed out that Timothy Pickering was nicknamed " Uncle Tim, " See p. 26, above.