1998 Uncle Sam 22¢ Postage Stamps Self-Adhesive Sheet for Additional Postage

The inspiration for Uncle Sam is generally considered to be Sam Wilson, a meat packer in Troy, New York. During the War of 1812, Wilson was responsible for shipping rations to soldiers. All packages were required to carry the initials of the contractor (in this case, Elbert Anderson) and the country they came from (the United States). The rations Wilson mailed bore the letters E.A. and U.S.

Uncle Sam was first illustrated as we know him today during World War I. His most famous appearance was on a recruitment poster created by James Montgomery Flagg. Flagg’s image of Uncle Sam as an elderly man with white hair, goatee, and red, white, and blue top hat struck a cord with Americans. Flagg didn’t want to bother hiring a model, so instead based Uncle Sam on himself, aging his own features. The poster depicted a stern image of Uncle Sam declaring, “I Want YOU For U.S. Army.”The poster was printed over four million times and was so successful that it is still a national icon over 100 years later.

Some critics have argued that Sam Wilson is not the man behind the country’s famed fictional representative. But in 1961, Congress made the story official resolving that “Congress salutes Uncle Sam Wilson of Troy, New York, as the progenitor of America’s National symbol of Uncle Sam.”