June 14, 2022 – Theme Week Day 2

We’re continuing our theme week “Weird Roadside Attractions: New York State Edition” today! Since it’s Flag Day, I thought we’d talk about a very patriotic roadside attraction – a 12 foot tall aluminum statue of Uncle Sam in Troy!
You might be wondering why a giant statue of Uncle Sam is in Troy, of all places. But it’s because Uncle Sam is said to be named after Samuel Wilson, a meat packer who lived there during the War of 1812. Wilson was born in Massachusetts, but moved with his brother to the Troy area in 1789. They first found success making bricks, and started a meat packing business in 1793. Sam was very well known in the Troy area, and everyone who knew him, including his employees, called him Uncle Sam.
During the War of 1812, Sam’s meat packing business secured a contract with the Army to provide 2,000 barrels of pork and 3,000 barrels of beef for a year. Each barrel was labeled with “E.A.-U.S.”. Many of the barrels ended up at a nearby camp of soldiers in Greenbush, NY. A lot of these soldiers were from Troy, and knew about Uncle Sam. So when they saw the “U.S.” stamped on the barrels, they joked that it stood for Uncle Sam. Before long, soldiers and civilians alike were saying that “Uncle Sam was feeding the troops”. The name stuck, and over time anything marked with the same initials became linked with his name.
There have been doubts about this legend, but in 1961, Congress officially passed a resolution declaring Sam Wilson to be the originator of Uncle Sam. His birthday, September 13, is also celebrated as Uncle Sam Day.
Uncle Sam wasn’t the first figure to represent America. Before him were Columbia, Lady Liberty, and Brother Jonathan. After the War of 1812, he began to take on characteristics of President Abraham Lincoln – the goatee, the top hat, etc. This is widely credited to political cartoonist Thomas Nast, who’s also responsible for giving us our image of Santa Claus, as well as the political party symbols of the donkey and the elephant.
He didn’t get a standard appearance until the now famous image that appeared on recruitment posters during World War I. It was created by James Montgomery Flagg, who used his own face for Uncle Sam. More than 4 million copies of that poster were printed during WWI, and it was used again during World War II. Learn more here.