National Patriot Day (9/11)

You know Uncle Sam was a real guy? He’s the famous patriotic caricature we’ve seen on posters: “I Want You For US ARMY.” 

Samuel Wilson, born in 1766,  worked as a meat packer in New York. During the War of 1812, he supplied troops with meat shipped in barrels. They were labeled “US”, short for “United States” but the story was it actually stood for his nickname “Uncle Sam”. The story eventually spread and the rest is history (literally). 

This 1850 photo of Wilson is the only known photograph of him.