Arising in obscure ways, often originating in derision or abuse or satire, sometimes repudiated by those to whom they are applied, at other times adopted in spite of the ridicule, the origin of nicknames is singularly elusive, and there are few words or phrases of which it is more difficult to trace the history. Moreover, nicknames are almost invariably associated in the popular mind with some person or place or thing having a similar name; and so a problem already difficult is made doubly so by the necessity of attempting to obtain information about very obscure persons. The history of nicknames usually follows one general course: those who, at the time of origin, perhaps know the real explanation, fail to record it, and then, a generation or so having passed by and the true origin having been forgotten, a series of guesses is indulged in. In Yankee, Brother Jonathan, and Uncle Sam, we Americans have perhaps more than our fair share of national sobriquets; and we are, so far as I am aware, the only nation to the government of which a sobriquet has been given in distinction from the people. For while Uncle Sam has occasionally been applied to us as a nation, its use is almost wholly restricted to our government. What has been said above about the popular tendency to connect nicknames with persons is well illustrated in all of our national sobriquets. When the history of Yankee comes to be written, it will be found necessary to consider a famous pirate who was the terror of the Spanish Main in the seventeenth century; a negro who lived in South Carolina in 1725; several members of a family which was well known in Cambridge, Massachusetts, during the eighteenth century; the Yankoos, Before considering the Samuel Wilson story, let us see what the history of the term Uncle Sam has actually been. For sixty-six years the statement has been repeated that the nickname arose at the outbreak of the war of 1812, varied occasionally by the assertion that the term originated during the Revolutionary War. Both statements are incorrect, as the term is not known to have been used until the war of 1812 was half over; but the nickname certainly did originate during that war. We are all so familiar with the causes, events, and consequences of the war of 1812, that it is unnecessary to dwell upon them here; yet some passages from contemporary newspapers will perhaps give us a more vivid impression of the thoughts and feelings engendered by that contest than will the formal writings of learned historians. An editorial note headed with the historic words "Era of Good Feelings," which appeared in the Columbian Centinel of July 12, 1817, began as follows: "During the late Presidential Jubilee many persons have met at festive boards, in pleasant converse, whom party politics had long severed. We recur with pleasure to all the circumstances which attended the demonstrations of good feelings" (p. 2-3). To us of the present day, who take our politics more calmly, it is not easy to understand the furor and turmoil which characterized the war of 1812. But if political warfare nowadays is less abusive and vituperative than it was a century ago, as is certainly the case, yet also it is distinctly less picturesque. Is it possible that in the matter of nicknames, we Americans have lost our inventive capacity? What has there been in the past decade to match "Father of his Country," "Old Hickory," "Mill Boy of the Slashes," "Old Man Eloquent," "Tippecanoe," "Old Bullion," "Rail-splitter," "Plumed Knight," and scores of other sobriquets that will readily occur to all? It is true that the nicknames which were so commonly bestowed during the war of 1812 were chiefly satirical; but on that very account they are the more valuable for our present purpose.
The man who later was commemorated by Lowell in an essay entitled "A Great Public Character," was, during the war of 1812, known as "Mr. Fum" Besides these nicknames applied to persons, there were several epithets which were employed to designate a class. Those who favored the war were called "Wildcats," "OUR War-Hawks when pot valiant grown, Could they the British King dethrone, Would sacrifice a man a day;— To me the reason's very plain, Why topers talk in such a strain— They want a double* Can-a-day. *Upper and Lower." "The noisy and vociferous demagogues and war hawks," said the Portland Gazette, "and office hunters in this vicinity, ... have never once slipt out of their beds of down, or paid The "War-hawks" retaliated by calling the peace men "Tories" and likening them to the Loyalists of the Revolution. "The war-hawks of that vicinity," said the New York Evening Post of October 28, 1812, "came to his house and began abusing him with the usual slang of Federalist, old Tory, &c." (p. 2-4). Nowhere was the depth of popular feeling more clearly shown than in the toasts that were offered at the various dinners which were so freely partaken of on the Fourth of July and on other occasions. Such dinners would now seem somewhat provincial, but they were exceedingly common late in the eighteenth and early in the nineteenth centuries, and no doubt they were of service in fostering the spirit of nationality. The following toasts were given in 1812. At Philadelphia: "May the tories of N. England repent—or be In 1813 were given the toasts which follow. At Boston: "May the traitorous designs of junto federalists and their wicked declaration, that 'Britain is the bulwark of our religion,' become more and more obnoxious by appointing 'Fee, Fow, Fum' Orators to promulgate their detestable principles." In 1814 were given the following toasts. At Belfast, Maine: "The War-Hawks and Vultures at Washington:—Having usurped the place of the towering Eagle, may they be expelled from the capitol, with their wings clipped and a label about their necks, to the wilds of Kentucky, the native haunts of birds of prey." It is clear that every one was in an irritated frame of mind, the merest trifle being sufficient to arouse bitter feelings, and even to cause men to come to actual blows. Duel after duel was fought by those in the upper classes of society—whether military, naval, or civil; and even among respectable people hand to hand fights seem occasionally to have taken place.
Long before this, however, there had been clashes between United States custom house officers and others. A communication dated Portland, Massachusetts, Meanwhile, however, we get our first glimpse of Uncle Sam. An article half a column in length, headed "For the Troy Post," was printed in that paper of September 7, 1813, and began as follows:
In a note is given this explanation:
In the Lansingburgh Gazette of late in September or possibly October 1, 1813, appeared the following:
In a communication dated Burlington, Vermont, October 1, 1813, appeared the following:
From a paper published at Herkimer, New York, on January 27, 1814, is taken the following:
In a paper published at Windsor, Vermont, in February, 1814, are found allusions to Secretary Armstrong and Josiah Quincy:
In the Herkimer American of April 28, 1814, was printed the following:
In or about May, 1814, the Keene Sentinel printed the following:
An extract dated Baltimore, June 22, 1814, reads as follows:
The following passage is dated Keene, New Hampshire, November 5, 1814:
The following story appeared in the Columbian Centinel of December 3, 1814:
The Plattsburg Herald of December 9, 1814, contained the following:
In the Salem Gazette of January 27, 1815, was printed the following:
The New Bedford Mercury of January 27, 1815, contained the following:
The above passage was quoted early in 1815 by Hezekiah Niles, who appended this note: "U.S. or Uncle Sam—a cant term in the army for the United States." In the Columbian Centinel of June 21, 1815, appeared the following:
Uncle Sam apparently made his first appearance in verse in a song called "Siege of Plattsburg, Sung at the Theatre, in Albany in the character of a Black Sailor. Tune—'Boyn Water.'" There are four stanzas, the first as follows: "Back side Albany stan' lake Champlain, One little pond, haf full a' water Plat-te-bug dare too, close pon de main, Town small—he grow bigger do herearter. On lake Champlain, Uncle Sam set he boat, While Gen'ral M'Comb Make Plat-te-bug he home, Wid de army, who courage nebber fail 'em." At this point, let us pause a moment and review the evidence—evidence which thus far has been drawn wholly from the newspapers. The term Uncle Sam is first found in September, 1813, or when the war was half over, though even then it was alleged to have "got almost as current as 'John Bull.'" Thus far, however, the term has been merely a colloquialism, found only in the newspapers. Let us now follow its progress in the literary language. Its first appearance in a book was in a political skit published in 1816, and written partly in Biblical phrase. Whose identity was concealed under the pseudonym of Frederick Augustus Fidfaddy, the alleged author of The Adventures of Uncle Sam, I do not know. The book itself,
It has already been noted that in books published in 1812 and 1814, Paulding did not employ the term Uncle Sam.
The first foreigner to use the term was apparently W. Faux, who in a book written between 1819 and 1823 frequently employed it. "Almost all Americans," he quotes a Mr. Perry as saying, "are boys in everything but vice and folly! In their eyes Uncle Sam is a right slick, mighty fine, smart, big man."
In the Baltimore Patriot of November 11, 1824, appeared the following:
In 1826 Mrs. Anne Royall, an eccentric lady who wrote several books of travel, not lacking in sharp hits, remarked:
One of Paulding's innumerable skits was "The History of Uncle Sam and his Boys: a Tale for Politicians," originally published in the New York Mirror in 1831. In this we read:
In 1835 David Crockett wrote:
In 1835 Charles J. Latrobe, Australian governor and traveller, remarked:
In 1835 Edward S. Abdy, an Englishman, observed:
In a note he added:
On December 28, 1836, General George A. McCall said: "At the usual hour for the examination of recruits, one bright In 1838 there appeared in Bentley's Miscellany a series of articles called Uncle Sam's Peculiarities, from which the following is extracted:
In 1839 Marryat wrote:
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 attention 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 Haliburton—"Sam Slick." This newspaper yarn does not, of course, deserve serious consideration, and may be dismissed 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." 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:
This story was introduced by Bartlett into his Dictionary of Americanisms in 1848; was repeated, with variations, by John F. Watson
On November 23, 1757, Edward Wilson, said to have been born July 6, 1734,
In the Troy Post of October 6, 1812, appeared this paragraph, which may or may not refer to the Wilsons:
In the same paper of June 1, 1813, under the head of "HOGS——wanted," was printed this advertisement:
In the Troy Post of September 28, 1813 (p. 3-4), appeared the following:
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.
In the Troy Directory (I, 61) for 1829, the first published, is found this entry: "Wilson, Samuel, ferry continued,"—which, Miss Jessie F. Wheeler writes me,
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 advertisement which was in part as follows:
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 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. On the other hand, certain facts militate 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. Secondly, 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 which 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. 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 "the 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. "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 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." Does the history of the term Uncle Sam, now given for the first time, tend to support or to overthrow this explanation 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 "In one caricature he was called 'Josiah the First,' and had upon his breast, as the decoration of an order, crossed codfishes, in allusion to his persistent defence of the New England fisheries. He was also called 'King' because of his political domination in New England. In the caricature his coat was scarlet, his waistcoat brown, his breeches light green, and his stockings white. In a space near the head, in the original, were the words, 'I, Josiah the First, do, by this royal proclamation, announce myself King of New England, Nova Scotia, and Passamaquoddy, Grand Master of the noble order of the Two Codfishes'" (VII, 358). In the Columbian Centinel of July 22, 1812, "Brutus" asked: "As a friend to liberty and republicanism, I wish to inquire whether Mr. Armstrong lately made a Brigadier General in our army by President Madison, is the same man, who has been supposed to have written the letters to the army in 1783, advising them to retain their arms, till they had forced the civil authorities to comply with their demands, and compensated themselves by plundering the innocent and defenceless citizens?" (p. 2-3). In the New York Herald of January 20, 1813, is the following: "New Secretary at War.—Gen. Armstrong's appointment has passed the Senate by a majority of three. Yesterday we mentioned that a Captain Jones of Philadelphia, was appointed Secretary of the Navy. So that we have for a Secretary of the Navy a man who headed a Philadelphia mob, to encourage the administration to pursue the war, and a Secretary of the Army, a man who exerted his best abilities to induce the heroes of the revolution to turn their arms against their own country. Nothing was wanting to compleat the administration but a man for Secretary of the Treasury who once headed a rebellion, and they have him in Albert Gallatin" (p. 1-2). William Jones was the new Secretary of the Navy. In the New York Herald of September 3, 1813, is an extract taken from the Federal Republican (of Washington): "Appointments-in-petto—Bombastico Inchiquin to be Attorney General, vice Marquis of Whitewash, so long inimical in the cabinet to secretary Mars.—Note: this nomination can only be read, at present, by a Rush-light. Brigadier-General Boanerges to be Secretary of War, vice Duke of Newburgh, to be removed under the standing rescript of the Virginia dynasty" (p. 4-2). "Bombastico Inchiquin" was Charles J. Ingersoll, author of Inchiquin, the Jesuit's Letters (1810); the "Marquis of Whitewash" was apparently William Pinckney; "Rush-light" is an allusion to Richard Rush; while the identity of "Brigadier General Boanerges" escapes me. Satirical allusions to the "Virginia dynasty" were long common in the Northern newspapers. In the Columbian Centinel of February 6, 1813, a correspondent said: "I WAS one of those who predicted in the year 1801, that the Virginia dynasty, which was at that time coming into power therein ever after to remain, would violate the Public Faith then pledged to the public creditors" (p. 2-1). See also New York Evening Post, November, 1812, p. 2-5; Columbian Centinel, November 7, 1812, 2-3; Columbian Centinel, June 4, 1814, p. 2-3. "Then, soon will the Country submit to the thing Which we wanted—to make Madison King!" "Oh! come in true jacobin trim, With birds of the same color'd feather, Bring your plots and intrigues, uncle Tim, And let's all be tories together." In the Northern Centinel (Burlington, Vermont) of December 3, 1813, appeared the following: "But, the bold benevolents of Vermont have lately smuggled from the enemy a Governor of the true British stamp, and have placed him upon the throne of State. This must eclipse the boasted feats of Bulwark Strong, Uncle Tim, and Fi-fo-fum, these three champions, will need something more than their own sagacity, to place them again in the front rank of toryism, nothing short of their smuggling out the duke of York and Mrs. Clark can raise these eastern heroes to a level with his Majesty's brave subjects in Vermont" (p. 3-3). The allusion is to the recent election by the Legislature, there having been no election by the people, of Martin Chittenden as Governor of Vermont. By "benevolents" are meant members of the Washington Benevolent Societies, then common. "And thus I close my message with The NAME of ALEXANDER SMYTH! A Gen'ral, Brigadier, Inspector, Commander, Conq'ror, and Protector— Whose 'Brock's black reg'ment' ne'er did fear yet, In camp at Buffalo, or near it." Sir Isaac Brock, to whom Hull had capitulated, was killed at Queenston on October 13, 1812. The boasting proclamations issued by the American generals were a constant source of ridicule in the peace papers. In his proclamation of July 12, 1812, General Hull said: "Had I any doubt of eventual success, I might ask your assistance, but I do not. I come prepared for any contingency—I have a force that will look down all opposition, and that force is but a vanguard of a much greater" (Columbian Centinel, August 5, 1812, p. 1-4). The Portsmouth Oracle of September 8, 1812, spoke of Hull's proclamation "to look down opposition" in Canada (p. 3-4). The Connecticut Courant of December 22, 1812, said that Hull "issued a look down proclamation to the affrighted Canadians" (p. 1-4). The Manlius Times, quoted in the New England Palladium of October 22, 1813, stated that "The Proclamation campaign has again commenced upon the Niagara frontiers" (p. 2-1). In the Salem Gazette of December 3, 1813, appeared the following: "The same Collectors will be employed next winter to execute the same duties in the Moon, which, it is expected, will be 'looked down' during the next campaign!" (p. 3-2). On August 16, 1812, Hull ignominiously gave up himself, his army, and Detroit, and incidentally enriched the language with a new verb. The surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga, of Lincoln at Charleston, and of Cornwall's at Yorktown, had given rise to the words "Burgoynade," "to Burgoyne," "Lincolnade," and "Cornwallisade." The Connecticut Courant of September 22, 1812, said: "Should Gen. Dearborn enter the territory, he ought, if he means not to be Hull'd, or defeated, to have 25 or 30,000 men" (p. 3-4). The Military Monitor of October 5, 1812, quoted the following from the Aurora: "These facts show the absurdity of the idea of a force of 4,000 men marching to be Hull-ed, in a country where 19,000 of their countrymen were once before Burgoyned" (I, 59). The New Hampshire Gazette of April 20, 1813, remarked: "From every section of the union, we hear of the march of troops and active preparations to open the campaign on the northern frontier with vigor and unless our gallant army is again Hulled, the British flag will soon disappear from Canada" (p. 3-2). The New York Herald of March 30, 1814, quoted the following from a Herkimer (New York) paper: "The prevailing opinion now is, that the campaign will be opened at Niagara; some suppose Detroit. If at the latter place, with the paltry force now marching in that direction, we shall most certainly get Hull'd" (p. 3-5). "General Smyth—again. "How many Militia and Volunteers, with such Generals as Hull, Smyth, et cetera, will conquer Canada? "A Yankee answer by another question—How many snow balls will heat an oven?" In the Columbian Centinel of December 23, 1812, appeared the following (p. 2-3): "A letter from Albany, says, 'All the Generals from Canada are extremely mortified and crest-fallen. The boys at Buffalo form themselves into groups, and sing the following altered stanza of Yankee Doodle:'— "'When Smythe a Bragadier had got, He prov'd a darned coward— He durst not go to Canada For fear of being devoured. Yankee doodle, doodle do— Yankee doodle dandy— Mind the back step of the march— And with your legs be handy.'" "Gen. Wilkinson's late Expedition. WITH Conquest how his bosom burn'd!— He went—he saw—and then—return'd." In the Boston Herald of November 23, 1904, appeared the following: "In a signed article in the Huntsville, Ala., Mercury, R. T. Bentley, a well-known man, says: "'It appearing that Theodore Roosevelt, the head and front of the republican party, which represents the dangerous policies of civilization, protective tariff, imperialism and social equality, has been elected president of the United States by a strictly sectional vote, and has established an insurmountable barrier between the north and south, I feel constrained to express my humble opinion, as a true and patriotic American citizen of the south, that if the republican party should continue its dangerous policies for the next 4 yrs. and should triumph in the next national election, that the 13 states which voted for A. B. Parker should secede from the union and by force of arms resist an oppression which means the early fall of our great republic.'" At the present day such a statement merely excites amusement, as no one takes it seriously; but in 1812 it was different. There is an expression in the last toast that has a familiar sound at the present day. Two examples of the spreadeagleism of the times will prove amusing. The following toast was given at Waterville, Maine, on July 4, 1815: "The Eagle of the United States—'May she extend her wings from the Atlantic to the Pacific; and fixing her talons on the Isthmus of Darien, stretch with her beak to the Northern Pole'" (Salem Gazette, July 18, 1815, p. 4-1). Capt. Ross Bird of the United States Army having been placed under arrest and bereft of his sword, he sent in his resignation, in part as follows: "In leaving the service, I am not abandoning the cause of republicanism, but yet hope to brandish the glittering steel in the field, and carve my way to a name which shall prove my country's neglect; and when this mortal part shall be closetted in the dust, and the soul shall wing its flight for the regions above, in passing by the palefaced moon, I shall hang my hat upon brilliant Mars, and make a report to each superlative star—and arriving at the portals of Heaven's high Chancery, shall demand of the attending Angel to be ushered into the presence of Washington" (New York Herald, November 10, 1813, p. 1-3). The other case, curiously enough, concerns a man of whom we shall hear later in connection with the alleged origin of Uncle Sam. In the Albany Gazette of September 20, 1813, appeared this (p. 3-4): "The following note has been handed to us by Mr. Butler—We do not intend to prejudge the cause of dispute by its insertion. The Gazette will be freely open to Mr. Anderson. "ELBERT ANDERSON, Jun. Contractor U. S. Army, is a base Villain, a Liar and a Coward. James BUTLER. "18th September, 1813." Anderson and Butler apparently had a hand to hand scrimmage at Plattsburgh, for in the Albany Gazette of September 30, 1813, was printed a communication in part as follows (p. 3-3): "Albany, 28th, Sept. 1813. "Messrs. Websters and Skinners, "A publication having appeared in your paper, during the absence of the Contractor, signed 'James Butler,' a friend to the former gentleman, who was an eye witness to the fracas at Plattsburgh, requests you to publish the following statement from the Plattsburgh Republican, of the 18th inst.... "A rash man has applied to the Contractor for the Army, epithets of a libellous and scurrilous nature.... "Plattsburgh, Sept. 15, 1813." So far as I have noted, the incident closed with the publication in the Albany Gazette of October 4, 1813, of a card from Butler dated Lansingburgh, September 29, stating that the writer of the above letter was "an infamous liar" (p. 3-2). 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 Sam 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). 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 Anderson, 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 De Vere 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 Dictionary, p. 229). And in 1891 J. M. Dixon wrote: "Sam.—To stand Sam—to entertain friends; to pay for refreshments. 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 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 expletive, 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 Dictionary of Obsolete and Provincial English (1857), in Hotten's Dictionary of Modern Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words (1859), in BarrÈre 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 Ainsworth's Rookwood (1834), Hindley's Cheap Jack (1876), Black's White Heather (1885), 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 organizations 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. Sam is dead! Plucked up by the roots! Buried in cotton!" (Kansas Herald of Freedom, August 4, 1855, p. 4-3). On February 28, 1856, Congressman Samuel Carruthers wrote: "I went twice (and but twice), 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 popular 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 Sambo" 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 distinguish 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). 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 provisions, 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 Samuel Wilson, who was usually called by the people, Uncle Sam. It so happened that one of the workmen, being asked the meaning 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, 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 1830 he published, in one volume, Annals of Philadelphia, being a Collection of Memoirs, Anecdotes & Incidents of the City and its Inhabitants from the Days of the Pilgrim Founders. (Collation: Title, 1 p.; Copyright, 1 p.; Advertisement, 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 Advancement 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 copyrighted 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 Philadelphia 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. Mr. Weise's version of 1891, differing somewhat from the above, is as follows: "Among the contractors supplying the Army of the North with provisions was Elbert Anderson, jr., who, on October 1st, advertised in the Troy and Albany newspapers for proposals for 'two thousand barrels of prime pork and three hundred barrels of prime beef,' to be delivered to him in the months of January, February, March, and April, at Waterford, Troy, Albany, 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 accustomed 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. I have noted several other references to Anderson. In the New York Evening Post of October 10, 1812, appeared the following: "right pointing hand Col. Mapes and the officers under his command, in behalf of their men, return thanks to Elbert Anderson, Junr. Esq. for his liberal present of 100 bushels of Potatoes, 2 boxes 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 provisions 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 precaution has been taken as respects the munitions of war that were at Champlain. "ELBERT ANDERSON, Jun. Army Contractor." "Albany, Dec. 19, 1812. 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 Mann. Mrs. Benson merely spoke of the existence in her family of the tradition about the Wilson story, but was unable to give me any new facts. "right pointing handDied—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). "right pointing handSamuel 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. "right pointing handSamuel Wilson, 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 88th 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 Traveller, August, 1, p. 2-4). "Died. In this city, July 31, Mr. Samuel Wilson, aged 88 years. Funeral services 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, written 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 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 was 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, Æ. 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 familiar, not only throughout the army, but the whole country" (VIII, 377). The name Kinnicut does not appear in the Albany Directory for 1813, the first published. An advertisement dated July 9, 1805, in regard to "Fresh goods just received by Pierce & Kinnicut," was printed in the Troy Northern Budget of September 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 Directory for 1813 appeared the name of "Sturdivant, Zebina, grocer" (Munsell's Annals of Albany, 1854, V. 89). "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 hastypudding." 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 Hasty-puddin." 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. "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. 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." Similarly, Uncle Sam becomes Uncle Samuel, of which an instance dated 1816 has already been given. (See p. 41, above.) "Our good Uncle Samuel," wrote General Randolph B. Marcy in 1872 (Border Reminiscences, p. 66). A letter which appeared in the Philadelphia Aurora of October 14, 1812, was signed "Johannes Taurus" (p. 1-1). It need hardly be pointed out that the word "uncle" has 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 (snapping 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, 1838, Hawthorne said: "The Revolutionary pensioners 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 rain?' 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 paragraph 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. Punctuation errors repaired. Archaic spelling retained. Footnote 5, "June" was italicized in the original text. It was changed to plain text to match the format of the rest of the text. (_Portsmouth Oracle_, June 26) |