• Historians are not really sure how the character "Uncle Sam" was created or how he was named.
• Theories say that "Uncle Sam" was named after Samuel Wilson, who was born in Arlington, Massachusetts on September 13, 1766.
• During the War of 1812, Wilson was in the business of slaughtering and packing meat, and he provided large shipments to the U.S. Army.
• The meat was put into barrels stamped "U.S." Someone who saw the initials said (as a joke) that they stood for "Uncle Sam" Wilson.
• The suggestion that the meat came from "Uncle Sam" led to the idea that "Uncle Sam" symbolized the U.S. federal government.
• Uncle Sam's traditional features, which include the little white goatee and star-spangled suit, was invented by political cartoonists and artists. Thomas Nast, a well-known 19th century  political cartoonist, was the cartoonist to draw the earliest cartoons of Uncle Sam.
• Samuel Wilson did not look like the Uncle Sam of today; for example, Samuel Wilson didn't have a goatee like Uncle Sam does.

Photo Found: www.loc.gov/exhibits/british/
Information Found:  http://www.home.nycap.rr.com/content/us_bio.html