Antedating Uncle Sam (1812)

[Laurence Horn]

At 1:10 PM -0400 9/8/08, Loiterstein, David wrote:
>Regarding this first OED citation for "Uncle Sam, the government (or
>people) of the United States of America" --
>
>1813 Troy Post 7 Sept. (Matthews), Loss upon loss, and no ill luck
>stir[r]ing but what lights upon Uncle Sam's shoulders.
>
>My Readex colleague Jim Walsh has found this 1812 use of "Uncle Sam" in
>a newspaper published in Bennington, Vermont--about 30 miles from Troy,
>New York:

So if this holds, we can reckon Route 7 as the birthplace of "Uncle
Sam", even though this may antedate Route 7 as such...

LH

>
>"The conscripts from this town, amounting to about 40, have been
>dismissed and sent home, sickness, has made bad work among us--according
>to the best information I have been able to obtain, about one half of
>us, are, or have been sick, 3 or 4 are dead.  Several are left behind,
>and not heard from.  The expence to this town, or more properly to the
>unfortunate individuals who were drafted, cannot be less than from two
>to three thousand dollars, exclusive of the expence to the U. States of
>pay, clothing, rations &c. Now Mr. Editor--pray if you can inform me,
>what single solitary good thing will, or can acrue to (Uncle Sam.) the
>U.S. for all the expence, marching and countermarching, pain, sickness,
>death &c among us?...A CONSCRIPT."
>
>-- Bennington News-Letter, December 23, 1812, Vol. II, Issue 38; page 3
>(America's Historical Newspapers)
>
>I'd be happy to send an image of the full item and/or full page to
>anyone interested.
>
>David
>
>David G. Loiterstein
>Marketing Director
>Readex, A Division of NewsBank
>phone: 203.421.0152
>e-mail: dloiterstein at readex.com
>www.readex.com
>
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