Uncle Sam
According to tradition this colorful representation of the United States,
Uncle Sam, had its beginnings with the life of a Massachusetts man - Samuel Wilson. Sam Wilson was born in Arlington, Mass. (known as
Menotomy at the time) on September 10, 1766, making him just eight years old when the fighting took place near his home on April 19, 1775 that marked the beginning of the American Revolution. While still a boy his family moved to Mason, New Hampshire.
It was a later war, the War of 1812, that brought Samuel Wilson his "fame". Sam and his brother had a contract with the
government to supply meat to the U.S. Army. The meat was shipped to the army in barrels that were marked with the letters U.S. to show that they belonged to the government. The soldiers at some point began to joke that the letters U.S. actually stood for the supplier of the meat and the name
Uncle Sam came into being. The traditional military habit of referring to any item that was government issued (whether stamped U.S. or not) as "
belonging to Uncle Sam" was begun.
Many years later political cartoonists began drawing a character representing the U.S.A. who was commonly referred to as
Uncle Sam. But
Uncle Sam is of course best known for the military recruiting posters of the First and Second World War that show his image with the caption: "
Uncle Sam wants you for the U.S. Army". Millions of American servicemen became very
familiar with this poster as they volunteered for the U.S. military.
During America's Bicentennial year of 1976 the town of Arlington, Mass. unveiled this monument to Samuel Wilson, the real life genesis for the symbol of our country,
Uncle Sam. Theodore
Catillo Barbarossa was the artist and sculptor. The monument bears a statue of Samuel Wilson, a graphic depiction of his life and the following inscription at its base:
IN HONOR OF SAMUEL WILSON - A NATIVE SON - BORN NEAR THIS SITE ON SEPTEMBER 10, 1766 - HE BECAME OUR NATIONAL SYMBOL - UNCLE SAM
This Sunday (April 19) from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. there will be an reenactment of the brutal fighting that took place at the Jason Russell house, in what is now Arlington, on April 19, 1775. On that date eleven members of the Colonial militia and two British Regulars were killed on the property. Jason Russell was among those killed. This event is being hosted by the Arlington Historical Society and the Menotomy Minutemen.
Some of the heaviest fighting to take place on April 19, 1775 between British Regulars and Colonial militia took place at the Foot of the Rocks (and the Jason Russell house) in what was formerly the village of Menotomy. In this small park in Arlington a plaque marks the site of the Foot of the Rocks and states, in part: "The valor of all those who fell and those who fought on, consecrated the Foot of the Rocks in 1775. We dedicate this field to their memory so that their courage will live on. The Arlington Bicentennial Planning Committee April 19, 1976."
According to tradition this colorful representation of the United States, Uncle Sam, had its beginnings with the life of a Massachusetts man - Samuel Wilson. Sam Wilson was born in Arlington, Mass. (known as Menotomy at the time) on September 10, 1766, making him just eight years old when the fighting took place near his home on April 19, 1775 that marked the beginning of the American Revolution. While still a boy his family moved to Mason, New Hampshire.
During America's Bicentennial year of 1976 the town of Arlington, Mass. unveiled this monument to Samuel Wilson, the real life genesis for the symbol of our country, Uncle Sam. Theodore Catillo Barbarossa was the artist and sculptor. The monument bears a statue of Samuel Wilson, a graphic depiction of his life and the following inscription at its base:
Just behind the Unitarian church, on the corner of Mass. Ave. and Pleasant St. in Arlington, lies the old Menotomy burial ground. Established in 1732, headstones for many members of Menotomy's most prominent families, as well as a number of Revolutionary War veterans, can be found here. (As of today's date these latter graves are marked with American flags). 
Russell's final resting spot. The faded inscription on the slate headstone is as follows: "Mr. Jason Russell was barbarously murdered in his own house by Gage's bloody troops, on the 19th of April, 1775, aetatis 59. His body is quietly resting in this grave with Eleven of our friends, who in like manner, with many others, were cruelly slain, on that fatal day. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." Right beside Jason's headstone is his wife's, Elizabeth Russell. She died in 1786 at the age of 65.
This 18th century home is best known for the fighting that took place here on the afternoon of April 19, 1775. After engagements that morning on Lexington Green and at the North Bridge in Concord the remnants of a 700-man expeditionary force of British soldiers and Marines, along with a relief force of an additional 1,000 troops, were attempting to make their way back to Boston.
