WATCH: Remembering the Real ‘Uncle Sam’ on Independence Day

Uncle Sam, long a symbol of the U.S. government, was inspired by a real person — Sam Wilson, a meatpacker from Troy, New York, born in 1766.

​Uncle Sam, long a symbol of the U.S. government, was inspired by a real person — Sam Wilson, a meatpacker from Troy, New York, born in 1766.   Uncle Sam, long a symbol of the U.S. government, was inspired by a real person — Sam Wilson, a meatpacker from Troy, New York, born in 1766.