FOOTNOTES:

FOOTNOTES:[1]See Brother Jonathan, Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, VII, 94-122.[2]"She was called Catalina, and, like all other vessels in that trade, except the Ayacucho, her papers and colors were from Uncle Sam" (Two Years before the Mast, 1841, p. 168). This extract is quoted in Farmer and Henley's Slang and its Analogues (1904), where it is dated 1835. The preface to Dana's book is dated July, 1840. Uncle Sam was first recognized in 1848 in Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms, whence it found its way into the 1860 edition of Worcester and into subsequent dictionaries.[3]The term does not appear in the following books, where, if known at all or in general use, it would be certain to turn up: J. K. Paulding, The Diverting History of John Bull and Brother Jonathan, by Hector Bull-us, 1812; The Beauties of Brother Bull-us, by his loving Sister Bull-a, 1812 (a reply to Paulding's book); W. Dunlap, Yankee Chronology, 1812; The Wars of the Gulls, 1812; Paulding, The United States and England, 1814; The Reviewers Reviewed, 1815; D. Humphrey, The Yankey in England, 1815. The first appearance of the term in a book was in The Adventures of Uncle Sam, 1816. See p. 40, below. Besides these books, political skits (written largely in Biblical language) were not uncommon in the newspapers. SeeColumbian Centinel(Boston), November 7, 1812, p. 1-3;The Yankee(Boston), August 13, 1813, p. 2-2;Portsmouth Oracle, February 26, 1814, p. 3-1;Columbian Centinel, March 2, 1814, p. 1-2. While John Bull, Brother Jonathan, and John Codline (that is, New Englanders) figure in these skits, there is no allusion to Uncle Sam. It may be added that in his Jonathan Bull and Mary Bull, written in 1821, Madison makes no mention of Uncle Sam.[4]View of the State of Parties in the United States (second edition, 1812), p. 159. The author of this work gives January 21, as the date of Williams's speech. The true date is January 24. See theConnecticut Courantof February 5, 1812, p. 2-3.[5]SeeConnecticut Courant, January 12, 1813, p. 3-4;Portsmouth Oracle, June 26, 1813, p. 2-5;Columbian Centinel, August 7, 1813, p. 2-4;New York Herald, August 31, 1814, p. 1-5; The Yankee in London, 1826, p. 96. "General David R. Williams," said thePortsmouth Oracleof January 8, 1814, "commonly called thunder and lightning David, has resigned his command, without sinking the fast anchored island" (p. 4-1). In theLansingburgh Gazetteof December 27, 1814, appeared the following: "'Thunder & lightning' Williams, formerly a member of Congress, and lately for about a month a brigadier-general, is elected Governor of South Carolina" (p. 3-3).[6]New England Palladium, June 30, 1812, p. 1.[7]Even as late as March 15, 1823, the expression was still remembered. SeeNiles' Registerof that date, XXIV, 32.[8]Columbian Centinel, February 3, 1813, p. 2-1. See also Quincy's Speeches delivered in the Congress of the United States (1874), pp. 389, 390. In Harper's Encyclopædia of United States History (1902) will be found reproduced a caricature of Quincy, described as follows:"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).[9]Military Monitor(New York), July 12, 1813, I, 363.[10]Aurora(Philadelphia), October 25, 1813, p. 2-3. The following toast was given at Passyunk in 1813: "Governor Strong and Orator Fum—two peas of a pod. 3 Groans!" (Aurora, July 12, 1813, p. 2-5).[11]Independent Chronicle(Boston), September 30, 1813, p. 2-3. In connection with Quincy, it is perhaps worth while to quote the following, for the sake of what is apparently an unrecorded use of the term hand organ: "THEVirginia Argus—one of Mr.Madison'shand organs—calls upon the Federalists of the North to abandonQuincy" (Columbian Centinel, August 29, 1812, p. 1-5).[12]Columbian Centinel, November 4, 1812, p. 2-4.[13]Columbian Centinel, October 28, 1812, p. 1-4.[14]The two anonymous Addresses or Letters, as they are sometimes called, written in March, 1783, will be found in A Collection of Papers, relative to Half-Pay and Commutation of Half-Pay, Granted by Congress to the Officers of the Army, Fish-Kill, 1783, pp. 16-21.In theColumbian Centinelof July 22, 1812, "Brutus" asked: "As a friend to liberty and republicanism, I wish to inquire whether Mr.Armstronglately made a Brigadier General in our army by PresidentMadison, 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 theNew York Heraldof 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 appointedSecretary 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 theNew York Heraldof September 3, 1813, is an extract taken from theFederal Republican(of Washington): "Appointments-in-petto—Bombastico Inchiquinto be Attorney General, viceMarquis of Whitewash, so long inimical in the cabinet to secretary Mars.—Note: this nomination can only be read, at present, by aRush-light. Brigadier-GeneralBoanergesto be Secretary of War, viceDuke 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 theColumbian Centinelof February 6, 1813, a correspondent said: "I WAS one of those who predicted in the year 1801, that theVirginiadynasty, 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 alsoNew York Evening Post, November, 1812, p. 2-5;Columbian Centinel, November 7, 1812, 2-3;Columbian Centinel, June 4, 1814, p. 2-3.[15]A satirical poem called "An Intercepted Letter, from Tall Tommy to Little Jemmy" appeared in theSalem Gazetteof November 3, 1814, p. 4-1.[16]"And it came to pass . . . that there arose a mighty man in the land, called Thomas, the Magician, on account of his great skill and cunning in dark and mysterious projects" (Adventures of Uncle Sam, 1812, p. 10).[17]The Yankee in London, 1826, p. 9.[18]See note 15, above.[19]New York Herald, April 16, 1814, p. 4-1.[20]Connecticut Courant, January 19, 1813, p. 3-1.[21]"The reins of government were now held by Mundungus, the great tetrarch of the nation, the apostle and successor of the great Conundrum" (The Yankee in London, 1826, p. 93).[22]Portsmouth Oracle, August 27, 1814, p. 2-2. In theColumbian Centinelof January 26, 1814, appeared these lines (p. 4-1):"Then, soon will the Country submit to the thingWhich we wanted—to makeMadisonKing!"[23]A poetical skit entitled "All Tories Together," which appeared in theAuroraof October 7, 1813, began thus (p. 2-5):"Oh! come in true jacobin trim,With birds of the same color'd feather,Bring your plots and intrigues, uncleTim,And let's all be tories together."In theNorthern Centinel(Burlington, Vermont) of December 3, 1813, appeared the following: "But, the boldbenevolentsof 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 ofBulwark Strong,Uncle Tim, andFi-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.[24]"The proclamation, dated "Camp near Buffalo," is printed in theColumbian Centinelof November 25, 1812, p. 2-4. A parody on the proclamation, ending as follows, was printed in theAlbany Gazetteof December 3, 1812 (p. 3-4):"And thus I close mymessagewithThe NAME of ALEXANDER SMYTH!AGen'ral,Brigadier,Inspector,Commander, Conq'ror, and Protector—Whose 'Brock'sblack reg'ment' ne'er did fear yet,Incampat Buffalo, ornearit."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). ThePortsmouth Oracleof September 8, 1812, spoke of Hull's proclamation "to look down opposition" in Canada (p. 3-4). TheConnecticut Courantof December 22, 1812, said that Hull "issued a look down proclamation to the affrighted Canadians" (p. 1-4). TheManlius Times, quoted in theNew England Palladiumof October 22, 1813, stated that "TheProclamation campaignhas again commenced upon the Niagara frontiers" (p. 2-1). In theSalem Gazetteof December 3, 1813, appeared the following: "The same Collectors will be employed next winter to execute the same dutiesin 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." TheConnecticut Courantof 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). TheMilitary Monitorof October 5, 1812, quoted the following from theAurora: "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 beforeBurgoyned" (I, 59). TheNew Hampshire Gazetteof 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 againHulled, the British flag will soon disappear from Canada" (p. 3-2). TheNew York Heraldof 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 getHull'd" (p. 3-5).[25]Columbian Centinel, December 16, 1812 (p. 2-2). The following is taken from theYankee(Boston) of December 18, 1812 (p. 3-2):"General Smyth—again."How many Militia and Volunteers, with such Generals asHull,Smyth, et cetera, will conquer Canada?"A Yankee answer by another question—How many snow balls will heat an oven?"In theColumbian Centinelof December 23, 1812, appeared the following (p. 2-3):"A letter fromAlbany, says, 'All theGeneralsfromCanadaare extremely mortified and crest-fallen. The boys atBuffaloform themselves into groups, and sing the following altered stanza ofYankee Doodle:'—"'WhenSmytheaBragadier had got,He prov'd a darned coward—He durst not go toCanadaFor fear of being devoured.Yankee doodle, doodle do—Yankee doodle dandy—Mind thebackstep of the march—And with yourlegsbe handy.'"[26]Salem Gazette, May 3, 1814 (p. 2-4). In theSalem Gazetteof November 25, 1813, appeared a paragraph headed "Braggardism!Wilkinson's Glorious Expedition to Canada!" (p. 2-2). The unsuccessful expedition into Canada gave rise to an epigram printed in theColumbian Centinelof December 11, 1813:"Gen.Wilkinson'slate Expedition.WITH Conquest how his bosom burn'd!—Hewent—hesaw—and then—return'd."[27]"Some of theWildcatsof Congress," said theColumbian Centinelof June 6, 1812, "have gone home, unable to incur the awful responsibility of unnecessaryWar" (p. 2-5).[28]Columbian Centinel, October 23, 1813, p. 2-1; June 29, 1814, p. 2-3.[29]Columbian Centinel, June 18, 1814, p. 2-3.[30]Columbian Centinel, June 11, 1814, p. 2-4.[31]Columbian Centinel, September 1, 1813, p. 2-1.[32]Quoted in the supplement to theAlbany Gazetteof November 19, 1812 (p. 1-1). The term was sometimes used attributively. Thus we hear of "the War-Hawk Government" (Columbian Centinel, September 28, 1814, p. 1-2); of "the war-hawk party" (Portsmouth Oracle, January 28, 1815, p. 3-2); of "the War-Hawk rulers" (Columbian Centinel, September 28, 1814, p. 1-2); and of "our War-Hawk Selectmen" (Connecticut Courant, August 16, 1814, p. 1-5).[33]In a speech on the admission of the Territory of Orleans, delivered in Congress on January 14, 1811, Josiah Quincy declared it as his "deliberate opinion that, if this bill passes, . . . it will be the duty of some" of the States "to prepare definitely for a separation—amicably, if they can; violently, if they must" (Speeches, 1874, p. 196). While this remark has become historic, it is almost invariably misquoted. In a speech made in Congress on January 8, 1813, Henry Clay, referring to Quincy, said: "The gentleman can not have forgotten his own sentiments, uttered even on the floor of this House, 'peaceably if we can, forcibly if we must'" (Works, 1897, V, 58). It is the Clay version that has become a familiar quotation.In theBoston Heraldof 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.[34]Aurora, July 7, 1812, p. 2-2.[35]Portsmouth Oracle, August 22, 1812, p. 4-1.[36]Aurora, July 27, 1813.[37]Caleb Strong was one of the twenty-eight "Barristers and Attornies at Law" who addressed Gage on July 1, 1774 (Boston News-Letter, July 7, 1774, p. 1-1). Those who addressed Gage on his departure in October, 1775, were of course loyalists; but the addresses to Gage on his arrival in 1774 were signed by both loyalists and ardent patriots. Perhaps no one received harder blows from his opponents in the war of 1812 than Strong. The following toast was given at Bernardston, Massachusetts: "The governor of Massachusetts. In 1774 the loyal addresser of Gage, in 1812 and 13 the eulogist and special pleader of the 'bulwark of our religion'" (Aurora, August 3, 1813, p. 1-3). At Pittsfield, Massachusetts: "Caleb Strong—The man, who by cunning concealment and tory prevarication, would endeavor to reason away the rights of his country, is unworthy of its confidence" (Aurora, July 22, 1813, p. 1). At Passyunk: "Execration to the hoary head traitorous vindicator of the barbarities of the monstrous government of England: His treason is only equal to his cowardice; 'England has done us no essential injury:'You lie you V——" (Aurora, July 12, 1813, p. 2-5).There is an expression in the last toast that has a familiar sound at the present day.[38]Aurora, August 3, 1813, p. 1-3.[39]Aurora, July 9, 1813, p. 2-4.[40]National Intelligencer(Washington), July 29, 1813, p. 1-3.[41]Military Monitor, April 5, 1813, I, 254. The following amusing paragraph may be quoted here: "Remarkable Incident.—On the 4th of July, 1812, GeneralChandlergave as a toast atAugusta:—'The 4th of July 1813—MayWEon that daydrink wine within the walls of Quebec!' On this same 4th of July he was within the walls ofQuebec(a prisoner) and from the known hospitality of the citizens of that place we have no doubt his wish was literally gratified" (Columbian Centinel, July 7, 1813, p. 2-4).[42]Columbian Centinel, March 9, 1814, p. 2-2.[43]Columbian Centinel, July 9, 1814, p. 1-5.[44]Bee(Hudson), July 12, 1814, p. 3-3.[45]Massachusetts Spy, July 20, 1814, p. 3-2. It is curious to see how history repeats itself. Between 1898 and his death, President McKinley was sometimes alluded to as "William I." In theBoston Heraldof January 28, 1907, we read of "Kaiser Theodore," and in the same paper of November 11, 1907, of "Theodore I." Just as Monroe was alluded to in 1814 as "the heir apparent," so now the same term is applied to Secretary Taft. SeeNation, August 22, 1907, LXXXV, 153;Boston Herald, November 6, 1907, p. 6-5;Boston Evening Transcript, December 2, 1907;Boston Herald, March 3, 1908, p. 6-3. Even the word "imperial" is not new to our politics. In theNew York Heraldof May 5, 1813, it was satirically said that "thebewilderificationof the enemy, on beholding our imperial standard, baffles all description" (p. 2-4).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 theAtlanticto thePacific; and fixing her talons on theIsthmus of Darien, stretch with her beak to theNorthern 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).[46]New York Herald, July 13, 1814, p. 1-1.[47]Two may be specified. The following is taken from theNew York Heraldof April 10, 1813: "Fracas at Albany.—By the passengers in the Steam Boat we are informed, that a fracas took place in Albany last Wednesday [April 7], between Col. Peter B. Porter and John Lovett, Esq., occasioned by some publications which have been made relative to the affair between Col. S. Van Rensselaer and Col. Porter. It is said Col. Porter, after some high words had passed, attacked Mr. Lovett with a cane, on which Mr. Lovett closed in with him and was like to demolish him, when some of the by-standers interfered and put an end to the contest" (p. 3-2).The other case, curiously enough, concerns a man of whom we shall hear later in connection with the alleged origin of Uncle Sam. In theAlbany Gazetteof 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. TheGazettewill be freely open to Mr. Anderson."ELBERT ANDERSON, Jun. Contractor U. S. Army, is a baseVillain, aLiarand aCoward.James BUTLER."18thSeptember, 1813."Anderson and Butler apparently had a hand to hand scrimmage at Plattsburgh, for in theAlbany Gazetteof September 30, 1813, was printed a communication in part as follows (p. 3-3):"Albany, 28th,Sept.1813."Messrs.WebstersandSkinners,"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 thePlattsburgh 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 theAlbany Gazetteof 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).[48]SeeNew Hampshire Gazette, September 14, 21, 1813;New York Herald, August 25, 28, 1813;Columbian Centinel, December 25, 1813.[49]Massachusetts Spy, December 22, 1813, p. 1-3.[50]It will be remembered that until 1820 Maine was part of Massachusetts.[51]Quoted in theNational Intelligencer(Washington), June 8, 1813, p. 2-3.[52]I do not know what act is meant.[53]Quoted in theNew York Herald, October 2, 1813, p. 3-3. I have been unable to find a copy of theLansingburgh Gazettecontaining the extract.[54]Quoted in theColumbian Centinel, October 9, 1813, p. 2-3.[55]The words "more or less" apparently occurred in the official accounts of the capture of York in April, 1813, but I have not been able to discover in exactly what connection. At all events, they caused much fun in the peace papers. "One dead Indian, 'more or less,'" said theNew York Heraldof July 14, 1813, p. 1-1. "Wanted," declared theColumbian Centinelof December 4, 1813, "about five hundred ('more or less') able-bodied, stout-heartedreal Americans, to collect ourland taxin our territory of Canada" (p. 2-3).[56]Quoted in theConnecticut Courant, February 8, 1814, p. 3-2. The same passage is quoted in theMassachusetts Spyof February 9, 1814, p. 2-3, and February 23, p. 4-3, except that in both instances the words "'Uncle Sam's' hard bargains" are omitted.[57]Quoted in theSalem Gazette, February 14, 1814, p. 3-3. See p. 29, note 33, above.[58]Quoted in theNew York Spectator, May 7, 1814, p. 1-1. The passage was also printed in theMassachusetts Spyof May 25, 1814, p. 3-3.[59]Quoted in thePortsmouth Oracle, May 21, 1814, p. 2-5. The story of the wagon which started with forty bushels of corn, related by Timothy Pickering, was reprinted in theMassachusetts Spyof May 25, 1814, p. 3-3, but "Uncle Sam" is omitted.[60]Quoted in theColumbian Centinel, June 29, 1814, p. 2-1.[61]Quoted in theNew York Herald, November 16, 1814, p. 3-4.[62]The story was reprinted in theNew York Heraldof December 7, 1814, p. 2-3.[63]Quoted in theNew York Herald, December 21, 1814, p. 3-5.[64]The extract was reprinted in thePortsmouth Oracleof January 28, 1815, p. 3-2; and in theConnecticut Courantof February 7, 1815, p. 3-1.[65]Quoted in theSalem Gazette, January 21, 1815, p. 3-1;Portsmouth Oracle, February 4, p. 3-1;Connecticut Courant, February 7, p. 1-3.[66]Supplement toNiles' Register, VII, 187. That volume ended with the issue of February 25, 1815.[67]Supplement toNiles' Register, IX, 95. That volume ended with the issue of February 24, 1816. TheAlbany Registerof December 6, 1814, advertised a play, farce, and "Naval Pillar" to take place at the theatre the following evening "in honor of the memorable Naval Conflict on Lake Champlain, fought on the glorious Eleventh of September" (p. 3-4). The song in the text may have been written for that occasion, though it is not mentioned in the advertisement.[68]See p. 33, above.[69]There are constant allusions in the newspapers to Greenbush. TheConnecticut Courantof September 29, 1812, printed an extract dated Pittsfield, September 17: "Democratic Economy.—Within a few days past, several waggon loads ofVinegarandMolasseshave passed through this village, on the way from Boston to Greenbush, near Albany. These articles were purchased at Boston for the use of the troops at Greenbush. The vinegar cost the government Five Dollars per barrel, in Boston; and according to the statement of the teamsters, the expence of transportation would be much more than the first cost. Now we are told, and we believe correctly, that vinegar can be purchased in Albany at less than four dollars per barrel. And we presume that molasses can be bought in Albany and New-York, as cheap as in Boston.—Why, then, this enormous expence of transportation!—So goes the people's money!" (p. 2-5).[70]As late as February, 1815, the editor of a Baltimore paper thought it necessary to explain the meaning of the term. See p. 38, note 66, above. The newspapers throughout the war literally swarm with allusions to John Bull, Yankee, Yankee Doodle, and Brother Jonathan. On the other hand, no allusion to Uncle Sam has yet been found before September, 1813, while from then until 1816 I have encountered less than thirty examples, all of which are quoted or cited in the present paper either in text or footnotes. This statement is based on an examination of newspapers published during 1812-1815 in Portsmouth, Salem, Boston, Worcester, Hartford, Troy, Albany, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington.[71]As this tract of 142 pages is apparently rare, I give the title: "The Adventures of Uncle Sam, in Search after his lost Honor. By Frederick Augustus Fidfaddy, Esq., Member of the Legion of Honor, Scratch-etary to Uncle Sam, and Privy Counsellor to himself. Middletown: Printed by Seth Richards. 1816." It was copyrighted May 16, 1816.[72]Jefferson.[73]The Canadians.[74]Henry A. Proctor, the British general.[75]Adventures of Uncle Sam, pp. 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 53, 96, 140.[76]See p. 22, note 3, above.[77]Letters from the South written during an Excursion in the Summer of 1816, (1817), II, 207, 208, 210.[78]Memorable Days in America (1823), p. 126. See also pp. 99, 140, 162, 188, 215, 225, 262, 381.[79]Niles' Register, XXI, 199. See also XXI, 38, 197.[80]Sketches, p. 165. In her Southern Tour, published in 1831, Mrs. Royall wrote: "Besides the collector [at the custom house, New Orleans], they have . . . 44 clerks, gaugers, inspectors, &c. Most of these were as shabby a set of gawks, as ever disgraced Uncle Sam" (p. 32).[81]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. TheSalem Gazetteof 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 few 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 asteamboat. His opponent immediately followed him, swearing he was anearthquakeand would shake him to pieces—and in fact almost literally executed his threat." TheSalem Gazetteadded "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).[82]New York Mirror, February 19, 1831, VIII, 260, 261. The indefatigable Paulding contributed to theUnited States and Democratic Reviewfor 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).[83]Tour to the North and Down East, p. 202. Uncle Sam had previously figured in the Narrative of the Life of David Crockett (1834), p. 86.[84]The Rambler in America, I, 160.[85]Journal of a Residence and Tour in the United States, II, 301.[86]Letters from the Frontiers (1868), p. 335. See also p. 354. This is the first use of the term by an army officer that I have noted.[87]Bentley's Miscellany, IV, 43, 294.[88]Diary in America, II, 42, 43.[89]The Clockmaker; or the Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, first appeared in the columns of theNova Scotianin 1835-1836, and was first published in book form at Halifax in 1837. In a conversation supposed to have taken place 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 can 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 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).[90]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 toNiles' 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 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, tostand Sam, whenever drinks or refreshments of any kind had to be paid for. As they were accustomed to seeUncle Sampay for all their wants, tostand 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 fromPunch, 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 toUncle 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, andE. Pluribus Unum. The 'Sams' are going overen 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 fromSam, Samuel, . . . is really borrowed from his Spanish appellationzambo,. . . . A connexion was sometimes imagined perhaps withUncle 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. "ThisNegre Sambocomes 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 theBoston News-Letterof October 2, 1704, an advertisement stated that "There is a Negro man taken up . . . calls himselfSambo" (p. 2-2). In 1716 "Sambo a negro servant" was married to Hagar (New England Historical and Genealogical Register, XXXVIII, 27). In theBoston Gazetteof July 22, 1765, "a Negro Man namedSambo" was advertised as a runaway (p. 4-3). In theMassachusetts Spyof 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).[91]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 appointments 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—acognomenwhich 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 atTroy, 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 andUncle 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 beenclosed 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 backwardfrom the year1842" (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.[92]In 1876 Mr. Weise gave the following account: "Among the well known citizens 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 everybody 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 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 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.[93]These of course need not be specified. In theBoston Daily Advertiserof 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 supplies 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.[94]See p. 32, note 47, above.[95]Albany Gazette, October 5, 1812, p. 3-5. The same advertisement appeared in theTroy Post, of October 6, p. 3-4, of October 13, p. 3-4, and of October 20, pp. 3-4; and in theNew York Heraldof 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 theNew York Evening Postof October 10, 1812, appeared the following: "right pointing handCol. 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 theAlbany Gazetteof 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.[96]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 (1904).[97]Lucy Francis was born March 12, 1738-39 (Vital Records of Medford, 1907, p. 60), and died at Mason, December 8, 1835.[98]For the Wilsons, see, besides the books by Mr. Weise cited above, Hill's History of Mason, p. 209; Cutter's History of Arlington (1880), p. 323; Vital Records of Arlington, pp. 47, 157. Edward and Lucy Wilson had thirteen children.[99]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 theTroy Gazetteof September 24, 1805, p. 3-4.[100]The notice was repeated in theTroy Postof October 12, 19, and 26. The business 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 theTroy Postof 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 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.[101]TheTroy Postof June 17, 1817, (p. 3-3), contained a notice of the marriage on June 9 of Elizabeth Wilson, a daughter of Ebenezer Wilson, and the Rev. James Ogilvie of New York.[102]Quoted in theTroy Sentinel, July 26, 1825, p. 3-4. Mr. Barton kindly sent me the same notice copied from theAlbany Argusof 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 fromKnickerbockercontaining 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 ofKnickerbocker, 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.[103]In the library 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 incomplete. 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.[104]Troy Daily Budget, August 2, 1854, p. 2-3. Other notices of Samuel Wilson appeared in the Troy papers."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. SeeTroy 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 theAlbany Evening Journalof August 1, 1854, appeared the following, which I copy from theNew York Tribuneof 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 theTroy Daily Budgetof August 2, p. 3-3; and in theTroy Daily Whigof 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 ofUncle 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 asUncle SamWilson. His brand upon his barrels was of course U. S. The transition from United States toUncle Samwas 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).[105]Albany Gazette, 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 July 9, 1805, in regard to "Fresh goods just received by Pierce & Kinnicut," was printed in theTroy Northern Budgetof 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 theAlbany Registerof 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).[106]The Albany Directory for 1813 contained the names of Ishmael Wilson, 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 manufacturer, 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).[107]See the obituary notice of Ebenezer Wilson, p. 55, above.[108]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.[109]See p. 57, note 104, above.[110]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.[111]"The army of the U.S." (Salem Gazette, January 21, 1812, p. 3-2). "An ambitious president . . . might march the militia . . . out of the U. S. and keep the whole of the regular 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 Greenbush" (Columbian Centinel, 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 President 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.[112]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).[113]New York Journal, October 13, 1768, p. 2-2.[114]Collections, Historical and Miscellaneous; and Monthly Literary Journal, III, 158, 159.[115]It is in a collection of Songs, Ballads, etc., in three volumes, presented to the Society by Isaiah Thomas in August, 1814, and stated by him to have been "Purchased from a Ballad Printer and Seller, in Boston, 1813. Bound up for Preservation—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.[116]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.[117]By earlier, I merely mean that it was printed earlier. The words of the two versions are practically identical.[118]Historical Magazine, I, 92.[119]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 hastypudding."The Farmer and Moore version is as follows:"Father and I went down to camp,Along with Captain Goodwin,Where weseethe men and boysAs 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.[120]In a song called Brother Jonathan, doubtless written in 1708, 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 worksMuch harder than a weaver."Throughout the war of 1812, song after song was written to the air of Yankee Doodle.[121]An article headed "The D.D.'s," which was printed in theKansas Herald of Freedomof August 25, 1855, begins as follows: "TheMissouri Democrathas a very fine article under this head. It says the politicians have lately taken upon themselves the liberty of conferring the degree of D.D. upon its voters with a most promiscuous irreverence" (p. 2-3). It states that Thomas H. Benton was responsible for the nicknames applied to Petitt and Douglas.[122]Notes and Queries, Ninth Series, V, 380, 439 (May 12, June 2, 1900); Tenth Series, VII, 257 (March 30, 1907).[123]See W. F. G. Shanks's Personal Recollections of distinguished Generals (1866), p. 117.[124]Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper, quoted in Notes and Queries, Ninth Series, V. 104 (February 10, 1900).[125]Notes and Queries, Ninth Series, X, 503 (December 27, 1902).[126]Notes and Queries, Ninth Series, X, 503 (December 27, 1902).[127]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 LondonTimesconverts 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 thePhiladelphia Auroraof October 14, 1812, was signed "Johannes Taurus" (p. 1-1).[128]See p. 33, above.[129]See p. 34, above.[130]See p. 43, above.[131]See p. 44, above.[132]See p. 45, above.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 thePresidentand all theCongress '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 veteranauspex, he evaded a direct reply. 'Wahl, theydusay 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). TheSalem, Gazetteof 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.

[1]See Brother Jonathan, Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, VII, 94-122.

[2]"She was called Catalina, and, like all other vessels in that trade, except the Ayacucho, her papers and colors were from Uncle Sam" (Two Years before the Mast, 1841, p. 168). This extract is quoted in Farmer and Henley's Slang and its Analogues (1904), where it is dated 1835. The preface to Dana's book is dated July, 1840. Uncle Sam was first recognized in 1848 in Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms, whence it found its way into the 1860 edition of Worcester and into subsequent dictionaries.

[3]The term does not appear in the following books, where, if known at all or in general use, it would be certain to turn up: J. K. Paulding, The Diverting History of John Bull and Brother Jonathan, by Hector Bull-us, 1812; The Beauties of Brother Bull-us, by his loving Sister Bull-a, 1812 (a reply to Paulding's book); W. Dunlap, Yankee Chronology, 1812; The Wars of the Gulls, 1812; Paulding, The United States and England, 1814; The Reviewers Reviewed, 1815; D. Humphrey, The Yankey in England, 1815. The first appearance of the term in a book was in The Adventures of Uncle Sam, 1816. See p. 40, below. Besides these books, political skits (written largely in Biblical language) were not uncommon in the newspapers. SeeColumbian Centinel(Boston), November 7, 1812, p. 1-3;The Yankee(Boston), August 13, 1813, p. 2-2;Portsmouth Oracle, February 26, 1814, p. 3-1;Columbian Centinel, March 2, 1814, p. 1-2. While John Bull, Brother Jonathan, and John Codline (that is, New Englanders) figure in these skits, there is no allusion to Uncle Sam. It may be added that in his Jonathan Bull and Mary Bull, written in 1821, Madison makes no mention of Uncle Sam.

[4]View of the State of Parties in the United States (second edition, 1812), p. 159. The author of this work gives January 21, as the date of Williams's speech. The true date is January 24. See theConnecticut Courantof February 5, 1812, p. 2-3.

[5]SeeConnecticut Courant, January 12, 1813, p. 3-4;Portsmouth Oracle, June 26, 1813, p. 2-5;Columbian Centinel, August 7, 1813, p. 2-4;New York Herald, August 31, 1814, p. 1-5; The Yankee in London, 1826, p. 96. "General David R. Williams," said thePortsmouth Oracleof January 8, 1814, "commonly called thunder and lightning David, has resigned his command, without sinking the fast anchored island" (p. 4-1). In theLansingburgh Gazetteof December 27, 1814, appeared the following: "'Thunder & lightning' Williams, formerly a member of Congress, and lately for about a month a brigadier-general, is elected Governor of South Carolina" (p. 3-3).

[6]New England Palladium, June 30, 1812, p. 1.

[7]Even as late as March 15, 1823, the expression was still remembered. SeeNiles' Registerof that date, XXIV, 32.

[8]Columbian Centinel, February 3, 1813, p. 2-1. See also Quincy's Speeches delivered in the Congress of the United States (1874), pp. 389, 390. In Harper's Encyclopædia of United States History (1902) will be found reproduced a caricature of Quincy, described as follows:"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 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).

[9]Military Monitor(New York), July 12, 1813, I, 363.

[10]Aurora(Philadelphia), October 25, 1813, p. 2-3. The following toast was given at Passyunk in 1813: "Governor Strong and Orator Fum—two peas of a pod. 3 Groans!" (Aurora, July 12, 1813, p. 2-5).

[11]Independent Chronicle(Boston), September 30, 1813, p. 2-3. In connection with Quincy, it is perhaps worth while to quote the following, for the sake of what is apparently an unrecorded use of the term hand organ: "THEVirginia Argus—one of Mr.Madison'shand organs—calls upon the Federalists of the North to abandonQuincy" (Columbian Centinel, August 29, 1812, p. 1-5).

[12]Columbian Centinel, November 4, 1812, p. 2-4.

[13]Columbian Centinel, October 28, 1812, p. 1-4.

[14]The two anonymous Addresses or Letters, as they are sometimes called, written in March, 1783, will be found in A Collection of Papers, relative to Half-Pay and Commutation of Half-Pay, Granted by Congress to the Officers of the Army, Fish-Kill, 1783, pp. 16-21.In theColumbian Centinelof July 22, 1812, "Brutus" asked: "As a friend to liberty and republicanism, I wish to inquire whether Mr.Armstronglately made a Brigadier General in our army by PresidentMadison, 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 theNew York Heraldof 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 appointedSecretary 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 theNew York Heraldof September 3, 1813, is an extract taken from theFederal Republican(of Washington): "Appointments-in-petto—Bombastico Inchiquinto be Attorney General, viceMarquis of Whitewash, so long inimical in the cabinet to secretary Mars.—Note: this nomination can only be read, at present, by aRush-light. Brigadier-GeneralBoanergesto be Secretary of War, viceDuke 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 theColumbian Centinelof February 6, 1813, a correspondent said: "I WAS one of those who predicted in the year 1801, that theVirginiadynasty, 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 alsoNew York Evening Post, November, 1812, p. 2-5;Columbian Centinel, November 7, 1812, 2-3;Columbian Centinel, June 4, 1814, p. 2-3.

In theColumbian Centinelof July 22, 1812, "Brutus" asked: "As a friend to liberty and republicanism, I wish to inquire whether Mr.Armstronglately made a Brigadier General in our army by PresidentMadison, 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 theNew York Heraldof 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 appointedSecretary 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 theNew York Heraldof September 3, 1813, is an extract taken from theFederal Republican(of Washington): "Appointments-in-petto—Bombastico Inchiquinto be Attorney General, viceMarquis of Whitewash, so long inimical in the cabinet to secretary Mars.—Note: this nomination can only be read, at present, by aRush-light. Brigadier-GeneralBoanergesto be Secretary of War, viceDuke 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 theColumbian Centinelof February 6, 1813, a correspondent said: "I WAS one of those who predicted in the year 1801, that theVirginiadynasty, 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 alsoNew York Evening Post, November, 1812, p. 2-5;Columbian Centinel, November 7, 1812, 2-3;Columbian Centinel, June 4, 1814, p. 2-3.

[15]A satirical poem called "An Intercepted Letter, from Tall Tommy to Little Jemmy" appeared in theSalem Gazetteof November 3, 1814, p. 4-1.

[16]"And it came to pass . . . that there arose a mighty man in the land, called Thomas, the Magician, on account of his great skill and cunning in dark and mysterious projects" (Adventures of Uncle Sam, 1812, p. 10).

[17]The Yankee in London, 1826, p. 9.

[18]See note 15, above.

[19]New York Herald, April 16, 1814, p. 4-1.

[20]Connecticut Courant, January 19, 1813, p. 3-1.

[21]"The reins of government were now held by Mundungus, the great tetrarch of the nation, the apostle and successor of the great Conundrum" (The Yankee in London, 1826, p. 93).

[22]Portsmouth Oracle, August 27, 1814, p. 2-2. In theColumbian Centinelof January 26, 1814, appeared these lines (p. 4-1):"Then, soon will the Country submit to the thingWhich we wanted—to makeMadisonKing!"

[22]Portsmouth Oracle, August 27, 1814, p. 2-2. In theColumbian Centinelof January 26, 1814, appeared these lines (p. 4-1):

"Then, soon will the Country submit to the thingWhich we wanted—to makeMadisonKing!"

[23]A poetical skit entitled "All Tories Together," which appeared in theAuroraof October 7, 1813, began thus (p. 2-5):"Oh! come in true jacobin trim,With birds of the same color'd feather,Bring your plots and intrigues, uncleTim,And let's all be tories together."In theNorthern Centinel(Burlington, Vermont) of December 3, 1813, appeared the following: "But, the boldbenevolentsof 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 ofBulwark Strong,Uncle Tim, andFi-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.

[23]A poetical skit entitled "All Tories Together," which appeared in theAuroraof October 7, 1813, began thus (p. 2-5):

"Oh! come in true jacobin trim,With birds of the same color'd feather,Bring your plots and intrigues, uncleTim,And let's all be tories together."

In theNorthern Centinel(Burlington, Vermont) of December 3, 1813, appeared the following: "But, the boldbenevolentsof 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 ofBulwark Strong,Uncle Tim, andFi-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.

[24]"The proclamation, dated "Camp near Buffalo," is printed in theColumbian Centinelof November 25, 1812, p. 2-4. A parody on the proclamation, ending as follows, was printed in theAlbany Gazetteof December 3, 1812 (p. 3-4):"And thus I close mymessagewithThe NAME of ALEXANDER SMYTH!AGen'ral,Brigadier,Inspector,Commander, Conq'ror, and Protector—Whose 'Brock'sblack reg'ment' ne'er did fear yet,Incampat Buffalo, ornearit."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). ThePortsmouth Oracleof September 8, 1812, spoke of Hull's proclamation "to look down opposition" in Canada (p. 3-4). TheConnecticut Courantof December 22, 1812, said that Hull "issued a look down proclamation to the affrighted Canadians" (p. 1-4). TheManlius Times, quoted in theNew England Palladiumof October 22, 1813, stated that "TheProclamation campaignhas again commenced upon the Niagara frontiers" (p. 2-1). In theSalem Gazetteof December 3, 1813, appeared the following: "The same Collectors will be employed next winter to execute the same dutiesin 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." TheConnecticut Courantof 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). TheMilitary Monitorof October 5, 1812, quoted the following from theAurora: "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 beforeBurgoyned" (I, 59). TheNew Hampshire Gazetteof 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 againHulled, the British flag will soon disappear from Canada" (p. 3-2). TheNew York Heraldof 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 getHull'd" (p. 3-5).

"And thus I close mymessagewithThe NAME of ALEXANDER SMYTH!AGen'ral,Brigadier,Inspector,Commander, Conq'ror, and Protector—Whose 'Brock'sblack reg'ment' ne'er did fear yet,Incampat Buffalo, ornearit."

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). ThePortsmouth Oracleof September 8, 1812, spoke of Hull's proclamation "to look down opposition" in Canada (p. 3-4). TheConnecticut Courantof December 22, 1812, said that Hull "issued a look down proclamation to the affrighted Canadians" (p. 1-4). TheManlius Times, quoted in theNew England Palladiumof October 22, 1813, stated that "TheProclamation campaignhas again commenced upon the Niagara frontiers" (p. 2-1). In theSalem Gazetteof December 3, 1813, appeared the following: "The same Collectors will be employed next winter to execute the same dutiesin 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." TheConnecticut Courantof 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). TheMilitary Monitorof October 5, 1812, quoted the following from theAurora: "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 beforeBurgoyned" (I, 59). TheNew Hampshire Gazetteof 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 againHulled, the British flag will soon disappear from Canada" (p. 3-2). TheNew York Heraldof 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 getHull'd" (p. 3-5).

[25]Columbian Centinel, December 16, 1812 (p. 2-2). The following is taken from theYankee(Boston) of December 18, 1812 (p. 3-2):"General Smyth—again."How many Militia and Volunteers, with such Generals asHull,Smyth, et cetera, will conquer Canada?"A Yankee answer by another question—How many snow balls will heat an oven?"In theColumbian Centinelof December 23, 1812, appeared the following (p. 2-3):"A letter fromAlbany, says, 'All theGeneralsfromCanadaare extremely mortified and crest-fallen. The boys atBuffaloform themselves into groups, and sing the following altered stanza ofYankee Doodle:'—"'WhenSmytheaBragadier had got,He prov'd a darned coward—He durst not go toCanadaFor fear of being devoured.Yankee doodle, doodle do—Yankee doodle dandy—Mind thebackstep of the march—And with yourlegsbe handy.'"

[25]Columbian Centinel, December 16, 1812 (p. 2-2). The following is taken from theYankee(Boston) of December 18, 1812 (p. 3-2):

"General Smyth—again.

"How many Militia and Volunteers, with such Generals asHull,Smyth, et cetera, will conquer Canada?

"A Yankee answer by another question—How many snow balls will heat an oven?"

In theColumbian Centinelof December 23, 1812, appeared the following (p. 2-3):

"A letter fromAlbany, says, 'All theGeneralsfromCanadaare extremely mortified and crest-fallen. The boys atBuffaloform themselves into groups, and sing the following altered stanza ofYankee Doodle:'—

"'WhenSmytheaBragadier had got,He prov'd a darned coward—He durst not go toCanadaFor fear of being devoured.Yankee doodle, doodle do—Yankee doodle dandy—Mind thebackstep of the march—And with yourlegsbe handy.'"

[26]Salem Gazette, May 3, 1814 (p. 2-4). In theSalem Gazetteof November 25, 1813, appeared a paragraph headed "Braggardism!Wilkinson's Glorious Expedition to Canada!" (p. 2-2). The unsuccessful expedition into Canada gave rise to an epigram printed in theColumbian Centinelof December 11, 1813:"Gen.Wilkinson'slate Expedition.WITH Conquest how his bosom burn'd!—Hewent—hesaw—and then—return'd."

"Gen.Wilkinson'slate Expedition.

WITH Conquest how his bosom burn'd!—Hewent—hesaw—and then—return'd."

[27]"Some of theWildcatsof Congress," said theColumbian Centinelof June 6, 1812, "have gone home, unable to incur the awful responsibility of unnecessaryWar" (p. 2-5).

[28]Columbian Centinel, October 23, 1813, p. 2-1; June 29, 1814, p. 2-3.

[29]Columbian Centinel, June 18, 1814, p. 2-3.

[30]Columbian Centinel, June 11, 1814, p. 2-4.

[31]Columbian Centinel, September 1, 1813, p. 2-1.

[32]Quoted in the supplement to theAlbany Gazetteof November 19, 1812 (p. 1-1). The term was sometimes used attributively. Thus we hear of "the War-Hawk Government" (Columbian Centinel, September 28, 1814, p. 1-2); of "the war-hawk party" (Portsmouth Oracle, January 28, 1815, p. 3-2); of "the War-Hawk rulers" (Columbian Centinel, September 28, 1814, p. 1-2); and of "our War-Hawk Selectmen" (Connecticut Courant, August 16, 1814, p. 1-5).

[33]In a speech on the admission of the Territory of Orleans, delivered in Congress on January 14, 1811, Josiah Quincy declared it as his "deliberate opinion that, if this bill passes, . . . it will be the duty of some" of the States "to prepare definitely for a separation—amicably, if they can; violently, if they must" (Speeches, 1874, p. 196). While this remark has become historic, it is almost invariably misquoted. In a speech made in Congress on January 8, 1813, Henry Clay, referring to Quincy, said: "The gentleman can not have forgotten his own sentiments, uttered even on the floor of this House, 'peaceably if we can, forcibly if we must'" (Works, 1897, V, 58). It is the Clay version that has become a familiar quotation.In theBoston Heraldof 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.

In theBoston Heraldof 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.

[34]Aurora, July 7, 1812, p. 2-2.

[35]Portsmouth Oracle, August 22, 1812, p. 4-1.

[36]Aurora, July 27, 1813.

[37]Caleb Strong was one of the twenty-eight "Barristers and Attornies at Law" who addressed Gage on July 1, 1774 (Boston News-Letter, July 7, 1774, p. 1-1). Those who addressed Gage on his departure in October, 1775, were of course loyalists; but the addresses to Gage on his arrival in 1774 were signed by both loyalists and ardent patriots. Perhaps no one received harder blows from his opponents in the war of 1812 than Strong. The following toast was given at Bernardston, Massachusetts: "The governor of Massachusetts. In 1774 the loyal addresser of Gage, in 1812 and 13 the eulogist and special pleader of the 'bulwark of our religion'" (Aurora, August 3, 1813, p. 1-3). At Pittsfield, Massachusetts: "Caleb Strong—The man, who by cunning concealment and tory prevarication, would endeavor to reason away the rights of his country, is unworthy of its confidence" (Aurora, July 22, 1813, p. 1). At Passyunk: "Execration to the hoary head traitorous vindicator of the barbarities of the monstrous government of England: His treason is only equal to his cowardice; 'England has done us no essential injury:'You lie you V——" (Aurora, July 12, 1813, p. 2-5).There is an expression in the last toast that has a familiar sound at the present day.

There is an expression in the last toast that has a familiar sound at the present day.

[38]Aurora, August 3, 1813, p. 1-3.

[39]Aurora, July 9, 1813, p. 2-4.

[40]National Intelligencer(Washington), July 29, 1813, p. 1-3.

[41]Military Monitor, April 5, 1813, I, 254. The following amusing paragraph may be quoted here: "Remarkable Incident.—On the 4th of July, 1812, GeneralChandlergave as a toast atAugusta:—'The 4th of July 1813—MayWEon that daydrink wine within the walls of Quebec!' On this same 4th of July he was within the walls ofQuebec(a prisoner) and from the known hospitality of the citizens of that place we have no doubt his wish was literally gratified" (Columbian Centinel, July 7, 1813, p. 2-4).

[42]Columbian Centinel, March 9, 1814, p. 2-2.

[43]Columbian Centinel, July 9, 1814, p. 1-5.

[44]Bee(Hudson), July 12, 1814, p. 3-3.

[45]Massachusetts Spy, July 20, 1814, p. 3-2. It is curious to see how history repeats itself. Between 1898 and his death, President McKinley was sometimes alluded to as "William I." In theBoston Heraldof January 28, 1907, we read of "Kaiser Theodore," and in the same paper of November 11, 1907, of "Theodore I." Just as Monroe was alluded to in 1814 as "the heir apparent," so now the same term is applied to Secretary Taft. SeeNation, August 22, 1907, LXXXV, 153;Boston Herald, November 6, 1907, p. 6-5;Boston Evening Transcript, December 2, 1907;Boston Herald, March 3, 1908, p. 6-3. Even the word "imperial" is not new to our politics. In theNew York Heraldof May 5, 1813, it was satirically said that "thebewilderificationof the enemy, on beholding our imperial standard, baffles all description" (p. 2-4).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 theAtlanticto thePacific; and fixing her talons on theIsthmus of Darien, stretch with her beak to theNorthern 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).

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 theAtlanticto thePacific; and fixing her talons on theIsthmus of Darien, stretch with her beak to theNorthern 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).

[46]New York Herald, July 13, 1814, p. 1-1.

[47]Two may be specified. The following is taken from theNew York Heraldof April 10, 1813: "Fracas at Albany.—By the passengers in the Steam Boat we are informed, that a fracas took place in Albany last Wednesday [April 7], between Col. Peter B. Porter and John Lovett, Esq., occasioned by some publications which have been made relative to the affair between Col. S. Van Rensselaer and Col. Porter. It is said Col. Porter, after some high words had passed, attacked Mr. Lovett with a cane, on which Mr. Lovett closed in with him and was like to demolish him, when some of the by-standers interfered and put an end to the contest" (p. 3-2).The other case, curiously enough, concerns a man of whom we shall hear later in connection with the alleged origin of Uncle Sam. In theAlbany Gazetteof 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. TheGazettewill be freely open to Mr. Anderson."ELBERT ANDERSON, Jun. Contractor U. S. Army, is a baseVillain, aLiarand aCoward.James BUTLER."18thSeptember, 1813."Anderson and Butler apparently had a hand to hand scrimmage at Plattsburgh, for in theAlbany Gazetteof September 30, 1813, was printed a communication in part as follows (p. 3-3):"Albany, 28th,Sept.1813."Messrs.WebstersandSkinners,"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 thePlattsburgh 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 theAlbany Gazetteof 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).

The other case, curiously enough, concerns a man of whom we shall hear later in connection with the alleged origin of Uncle Sam. In theAlbany Gazetteof 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. TheGazettewill be freely open to Mr. Anderson.

"ELBERT ANDERSON, Jun. Contractor U. S. Army, is a baseVillain, aLiarand aCoward.

James BUTLER.

"18thSeptember, 1813."

Anderson and Butler apparently had a hand to hand scrimmage at Plattsburgh, for in theAlbany Gazetteof September 30, 1813, was printed a communication in part as follows (p. 3-3):

"Albany, 28th,Sept.1813.

"Messrs.WebstersandSkinners,

"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 thePlattsburgh 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 theAlbany Gazetteof 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).

[48]SeeNew Hampshire Gazette, September 14, 21, 1813;New York Herald, August 25, 28, 1813;Columbian Centinel, December 25, 1813.

[49]Massachusetts Spy, December 22, 1813, p. 1-3.

[50]It will be remembered that until 1820 Maine was part of Massachusetts.

[51]Quoted in theNational Intelligencer(Washington), June 8, 1813, p. 2-3.

[52]I do not know what act is meant.

[53]Quoted in theNew York Herald, October 2, 1813, p. 3-3. I have been unable to find a copy of theLansingburgh Gazettecontaining the extract.

[54]Quoted in theColumbian Centinel, October 9, 1813, p. 2-3.

[55]The words "more or less" apparently occurred in the official accounts of the capture of York in April, 1813, but I have not been able to discover in exactly what connection. At all events, they caused much fun in the peace papers. "One dead Indian, 'more or less,'" said theNew York Heraldof July 14, 1813, p. 1-1. "Wanted," declared theColumbian Centinelof December 4, 1813, "about five hundred ('more or less') able-bodied, stout-heartedreal Americans, to collect ourland taxin our territory of Canada" (p. 2-3).

[56]Quoted in theConnecticut Courant, February 8, 1814, p. 3-2. The same passage is quoted in theMassachusetts Spyof February 9, 1814, p. 2-3, and February 23, p. 4-3, except that in both instances the words "'Uncle Sam's' hard bargains" are omitted.

[57]Quoted in theSalem Gazette, February 14, 1814, p. 3-3. See p. 29, note 33, above.

[58]Quoted in theNew York Spectator, May 7, 1814, p. 1-1. The passage was also printed in theMassachusetts Spyof May 25, 1814, p. 3-3.

[59]Quoted in thePortsmouth Oracle, May 21, 1814, p. 2-5. The story of the wagon which started with forty bushels of corn, related by Timothy Pickering, was reprinted in theMassachusetts Spyof May 25, 1814, p. 3-3, but "Uncle Sam" is omitted.

[60]Quoted in theColumbian Centinel, June 29, 1814, p. 2-1.

[61]Quoted in theNew York Herald, November 16, 1814, p. 3-4.

[62]The story was reprinted in theNew York Heraldof December 7, 1814, p. 2-3.

[63]Quoted in theNew York Herald, December 21, 1814, p. 3-5.

[64]The extract was reprinted in thePortsmouth Oracleof January 28, 1815, p. 3-2; and in theConnecticut Courantof February 7, 1815, p. 3-1.

[65]Quoted in theSalem Gazette, January 21, 1815, p. 3-1;Portsmouth Oracle, February 4, p. 3-1;Connecticut Courant, February 7, p. 1-3.

[66]Supplement toNiles' Register, VII, 187. That volume ended with the issue of February 25, 1815.

[67]Supplement toNiles' Register, IX, 95. That volume ended with the issue of February 24, 1816. TheAlbany Registerof December 6, 1814, advertised a play, farce, and "Naval Pillar" to take place at the theatre the following evening "in honor of the memorable Naval Conflict on Lake Champlain, fought on the glorious Eleventh of September" (p. 3-4). The song in the text may have been written for that occasion, though it is not mentioned in the advertisement.

[68]See p. 33, above.

[69]There are constant allusions in the newspapers to Greenbush. TheConnecticut Courantof September 29, 1812, printed an extract dated Pittsfield, September 17: "Democratic Economy.—Within a few days past, several waggon loads ofVinegarandMolasseshave passed through this village, on the way from Boston to Greenbush, near Albany. These articles were purchased at Boston for the use of the troops at Greenbush. The vinegar cost the government Five Dollars per barrel, in Boston; and according to the statement of the teamsters, the expence of transportation would be much more than the first cost. Now we are told, and we believe correctly, that vinegar can be purchased in Albany at less than four dollars per barrel. And we presume that molasses can be bought in Albany and New-York, as cheap as in Boston.—Why, then, this enormous expence of transportation!—So goes the people's money!" (p. 2-5).

[70]As late as February, 1815, the editor of a Baltimore paper thought it necessary to explain the meaning of the term. See p. 38, note 66, above. The newspapers throughout the war literally swarm with allusions to John Bull, Yankee, Yankee Doodle, and Brother Jonathan. On the other hand, no allusion to Uncle Sam has yet been found before September, 1813, while from then until 1816 I have encountered less than thirty examples, all of which are quoted or cited in the present paper either in text or footnotes. This statement is based on an examination of newspapers published during 1812-1815 in Portsmouth, Salem, Boston, Worcester, Hartford, Troy, Albany, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington.

[71]As this tract of 142 pages is apparently rare, I give the title: "The Adventures of Uncle Sam, in Search after his lost Honor. By Frederick Augustus Fidfaddy, Esq., Member of the Legion of Honor, Scratch-etary to Uncle Sam, and Privy Counsellor to himself. Middletown: Printed by Seth Richards. 1816." It was copyrighted May 16, 1816.

[72]Jefferson.

[73]The Canadians.

[74]Henry A. Proctor, the British general.

[75]Adventures of Uncle Sam, pp. 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 53, 96, 140.

[76]See p. 22, note 3, above.

[77]Letters from the South written during an Excursion in the Summer of 1816, (1817), II, 207, 208, 210.

[78]Memorable Days in America (1823), p. 126. See also pp. 99, 140, 162, 188, 215, 225, 262, 381.

[79]Niles' Register, XXI, 199. See also XXI, 38, 197.

[80]Sketches, p. 165. In her Southern Tour, published in 1831, Mrs. Royall wrote: "Besides the collector [at the custom house, New Orleans], they have . . . 44 clerks, gaugers, inspectors, &c. Most of these were as shabby a set of gawks, as ever disgraced Uncle Sam" (p. 32).

[81]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. TheSalem Gazetteof 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 few 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 asteamboat. His opponent immediately followed him, swearing he was anearthquakeand would shake him to pieces—and in fact almost literally executed his threat." TheSalem Gazetteadded "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).

[82]New York Mirror, February 19, 1831, VIII, 260, 261. The indefatigable Paulding contributed to theUnited States and Democratic Reviewfor 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).

[83]Tour to the North and Down East, p. 202. Uncle Sam had previously figured in the Narrative of the Life of David Crockett (1834), p. 86.

[84]The Rambler in America, I, 160.

[85]Journal of a Residence and Tour in the United States, II, 301.

[86]Letters from the Frontiers (1868), p. 335. See also p. 354. This is the first use of the term by an army officer that I have noted.

[87]Bentley's Miscellany, IV, 43, 294.

[88]Diary in America, II, 42, 43.

[89]The Clockmaker; or the Sayings and Doings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville, first appeared in the columns of theNova Scotianin 1835-1836, and was first published in book form at Halifax in 1837. In a conversation supposed to have taken place 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 can 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 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).

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).

[90]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 toNiles' 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 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, tostand Sam, whenever drinks or refreshments of any kind had to be paid for. As they were accustomed to seeUncle Sampay for all their wants, tostand 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 fromPunch, 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 toUncle 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, andE. Pluribus Unum. The 'Sams' are going overen 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 fromSam, Samuel, . . . is really borrowed from his Spanish appellationzambo,. . . . A connexion was sometimes imagined perhaps withUncle 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. "ThisNegre Sambocomes 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 theBoston News-Letterof October 2, 1704, an advertisement stated that "There is a Negro man taken up . . . calls himselfSambo" (p. 2-2). In 1716 "Sambo a negro servant" was married to Hagar (New England Historical and Genealogical Register, XXXVIII, 27). In theBoston Gazetteof July 22, 1765, "a Negro Man namedSambo" was advertised as a runaway (p. 4-3). In theMassachusetts Spyof 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).

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, tostand Sam, whenever drinks or refreshments of any kind had to be paid for. As they were accustomed to seeUncle Sampay for all their wants, tostand 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 fromPunch, 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 toUncle 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, andE. Pluribus Unum. The 'Sams' are going overen 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 fromSam, Samuel, . . . is really borrowed from his Spanish appellationzambo,. . . . A connexion was sometimes imagined perhaps withUncle 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. "ThisNegre Sambocomes 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 theBoston News-Letterof October 2, 1704, an advertisement stated that "There is a Negro man taken up . . . calls himselfSambo" (p. 2-2). In 1716 "Sambo a negro servant" was married to Hagar (New England Historical and Genealogical Register, XXXVIII, 27). In theBoston Gazetteof July 22, 1765, "a Negro Man namedSambo" was advertised as a runaway (p. 4-3). In theMassachusetts Spyof 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).

[91]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 appointments 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—acognomenwhich 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 atTroy, 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 andUncle 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 beenclosed 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 backwardfrom the year1842" (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.

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 atTroy, 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 andUncle 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 beenclosed 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 backwardfrom the year1842" (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.

[92]In 1876 Mr. Weise gave the following account: "Among the well known citizens 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 everybody 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 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 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.

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.

[93]These of course need not be specified. In theBoston Daily Advertiserof 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 supplies 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.

[94]See p. 32, note 47, above.

[95]Albany Gazette, October 5, 1812, p. 3-5. The same advertisement appeared in theTroy Post, of October 6, p. 3-4, of October 13, p. 3-4, and of October 20, pp. 3-4; and in theNew York Heraldof 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 theNew York Evening Postof October 10, 1812, appeared the following: "right pointing handCol. 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 theAlbany Gazetteof 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.

I have noted several other references to Anderson. In theNew York Evening Postof October 10, 1812, appeared the following: "right pointing handCol. 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 theAlbany Gazetteof 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.

[96]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 (1904).

[97]Lucy Francis was born March 12, 1738-39 (Vital Records of Medford, 1907, p. 60), and died at Mason, December 8, 1835.

[98]For the Wilsons, see, besides the books by Mr. Weise cited above, Hill's History of Mason, p. 209; Cutter's History of Arlington (1880), p. 323; Vital Records of Arlington, pp. 47, 157. Edward and Lucy Wilson had thirteen children.

[99]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 theTroy Gazetteof September 24, 1805, p. 3-4.

[100]The notice was repeated in theTroy Postof October 12, 19, and 26. The business 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 theTroy Postof 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 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.

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.

[101]TheTroy Postof June 17, 1817, (p. 3-3), contained a notice of the marriage on June 9 of Elizabeth Wilson, a daughter of Ebenezer Wilson, and the Rev. James Ogilvie of New York.

[102]Quoted in theTroy Sentinel, July 26, 1825, p. 3-4. Mr. Barton kindly sent me the same notice copied from theAlbany Argusof 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 fromKnickerbockercontaining 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 ofKnickerbocker, 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.

[103]In the library 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 incomplete. 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.

[104]Troy Daily Budget, August 2, 1854, p. 2-3. Other notices of Samuel Wilson appeared in the Troy papers."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. SeeTroy 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 theAlbany Evening Journalof August 1, 1854, appeared the following, which I copy from theNew York Tribuneof 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 theTroy Daily Budgetof August 2, p. 3-3; and in theTroy Daily Whigof 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 ofUncle 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 asUncle SamWilson. His brand upon his barrels was of course U. S. The transition from United States toUncle Samwas 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).

[104]Troy Daily Budget, August 2, 1854, p. 2-3. Other notices of Samuel Wilson appeared in the Troy papers.

"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. SeeTroy 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 theAlbany Evening Journalof August 1, 1854, appeared the following, which I copy from theNew York Tribuneof 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 theTroy Daily Budgetof August 2, p. 3-3; and in theTroy Daily Whigof 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 ofUncle 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 asUncle SamWilson. His brand upon his barrels was of course U. S. The transition from United States toUncle Samwas 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).

[105]Albany Gazette, 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 July 9, 1805, in regard to "Fresh goods just received by Pierce & Kinnicut," was printed in theTroy Northern Budgetof 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 theAlbany Registerof 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).

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 theTroy Northern Budgetof 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 theAlbany Registerof 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).

[106]The Albany Directory for 1813 contained the names of Ishmael Wilson, 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 manufacturer, 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).

[107]See the obituary notice of Ebenezer Wilson, p. 55, above.

[108]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.

[109]See p. 57, note 104, above.

[110]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.

[111]"The army of the U.S." (Salem Gazette, January 21, 1812, p. 3-2). "An ambitious president . . . might march the militia . . . out of the U. S. and keep the whole of the regular 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 Greenbush" (Columbian Centinel, 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 President 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.

[112]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).

[113]New York Journal, October 13, 1768, p. 2-2.

[114]Collections, Historical and Miscellaneous; and Monthly Literary Journal, III, 158, 159.

[115]It is in a collection of Songs, Ballads, etc., in three volumes, presented to the Society by Isaiah Thomas in August, 1814, and stated by him to have been "Purchased from a Ballad Printer and Seller, in Boston, 1813. Bound up for Preservation—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.

[116]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.

[117]By earlier, I merely mean that it was printed earlier. The words of the two versions are practically identical.

[118]Historical Magazine, I, 92.

[119]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 hastypudding."The Farmer and Moore version is as follows:"Father and I went down to camp,Along with Captain Goodwin,Where weseethe men and boysAs 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.

[119]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 hastypudding."

The Farmer and Moore version is as follows:

"Father and I went down to camp,Along with Captain Goodwin,Where weseethe men and boysAs 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.

[120]In a song called Brother Jonathan, doubtless written in 1708, 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 worksMuch harder than a weaver."Throughout the war of 1812, song after song was written to the air of Yankee Doodle.

"I think it's darned wrong, be sure,Because we us'd 'em clever;An' uncle vums a sailor worksMuch harder than a weaver."

Throughout the war of 1812, song after song was written to the air of Yankee Doodle.

[121]An article headed "The D.D.'s," which was printed in theKansas Herald of Freedomof August 25, 1855, begins as follows: "TheMissouri Democrathas a very fine article under this head. It says the politicians have lately taken upon themselves the liberty of conferring the degree of D.D. upon its voters with a most promiscuous irreverence" (p. 2-3). It states that Thomas H. Benton was responsible for the nicknames applied to Petitt and Douglas.

[122]Notes and Queries, Ninth Series, V, 380, 439 (May 12, June 2, 1900); Tenth Series, VII, 257 (March 30, 1907).

[123]See W. F. G. Shanks's Personal Recollections of distinguished Generals (1866), p. 117.

[124]Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper, quoted in Notes and Queries, Ninth Series, V. 104 (February 10, 1900).

[125]Notes and Queries, Ninth Series, X, 503 (December 27, 1902).

[126]Notes and Queries, Ninth Series, X, 503 (December 27, 1902).

[127]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 LondonTimesconverts 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 thePhiladelphia Auroraof October 14, 1812, was signed "Johannes Taurus" (p. 1-1).

[127]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 LondonTimesconverts 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 thePhiladelphia Auroraof October 14, 1812, was signed "Johannes Taurus" (p. 1-1).

[128]See p. 33, above.

[129]See p. 34, above.

[130]See p. 43, above.

[131]See p. 44, above.

[132]See p. 45, above.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 thePresidentand all theCongress '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 veteranauspex, he evaded a direct reply. 'Wahl, theydusay 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). TheSalem, Gazetteof 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.

[132]See p. 45, above.

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 thePresidentand all theCongress '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 veteranauspex, he evaded a direct reply. 'Wahl, theydusay 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). TheSalem, Gazetteof 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.

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