Troy, New York, just northeast of Albany, is home to the Oakwood Cemetery, the final resting spot of Sam Wilson, better known as Uncle Sam.
The illustrated personification of the U.S. was modeled on Wilson, a meat packer who supplied beef to the U.S. Army in the War of 1812. The crates he delivered were marked U.S. Beef, which came to be interpreted as Uncle Sam's Beef. Cartoonists picked up on the foot soldiers' joke.
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