GRAVE MARKING
Daughters of 1812 host special ceremony for ‘Uncle Sam’ at Oakwood Cemetery
TROY, N.Y. » Representatives from the state and national societies of the Daughters of 1812 gathered in Troy on Sunday for a special grave marking ceremony honoring Samuel “Uncle Sam” Wilson.
“He’s an American icon, and he originated during the War of 1812, which is our period of history that we honor and work to educate the American public about that time in our nation’s history,” said Mary Raye Casper, president National of the Daughters of 1812, during her visit to Troy’s Oakwood Cemetery.
“Our society honors veterans and others who served in the War of 1812 by placing markers at their graves,” added Anne Farley, New York state president of the Daughters of 1812. “So we just want to acknowledge and sort of claim him for the War of 1812.”
Anne Davis, honorary vice president National and New York state chairperson for Grave Markers for the Daughters of 1812, called Sunday’s event an important grave marking.
“Uncle Sam contributed a lot to the War of 1812 effort,” she said. “His stone has been dedicated many times by many different organizations … and as Daughters of 1812 we are very proud to put our marker there.”
Rensselaer County and Troy historian Kathy Sheehan was invited to speak about Samuel Wilson during Sunday’s ceremony inside the cemetery’s Gardner Earl Memorial Chapel.
“He had a very storied career here in Troy,” she said. “He was very much involved in the politics and the growth of Troy, at a time when it was rapidly growing - but he never realized he was going to be famous. I think that’s probably one of the biggest misconceptions that people have.”
Along with his national fame, Wilson was wellknown within the Troy community. “Even if you take the Uncle Sam part of it away, we feel that Samuel Wilson was really important to that early growth in the city of Troy. So we would honor him regardless, but it’s amazing how this whole story then continues,” Sheehan said.
The local historian thanked the Daughters of 1812 for honoring Wilson and his legacy in this way. “We’re very grateful to all of you who continue to keep the story of Samuel Wilson
and Uncle Sam alive, and the importance of the War of 1812. It is one of those forgotten wars, and we don’t want it to be forgotten,” she said.
“As the Daughters of 1812, we are honored to have located and documents over 3,000 New York 1812 soldiers, so we do quite a few of these grave location ceremonies throughout the year, but Uncle Sam is one of our more famous icons in America, and it’s an honor today to dedicate his grave and place a marker on behalf of the Daughters of 1812,” Davis said shortly before placing the marker at Wilson’s gravesite.
In addition to this marker, the National Society United States Daughters of 1812 recently donated twelve large flags for display at the gravesite of Uncle Sam. The gift is expected to meet the cemetery’s needs for replacement flags at Uncle Sam’s gravesite for several years to come.