U.S. Army Recruitment Poster
Description
"A war recruitment poster of ‘Uncle Sam’ pointing out and imploring others to join the US army.
The famous war recruitment poster that is well known-today is usually thought of as a made-up man used as a symbol for patriotism. However, Uncle Sam was based on a real-life individual, Sam Wilson, a New York meat packer. Nicknamed Uncle Sam by his coworkers, James Flagg used his name and face as a template for the poster.
The poster also combined parts of Flagg’s face, and a pose used by veteran Walter Botts. It was used in both World Wars, and is still an iconic image today."
The famous war recruitment poster that is well known-today is usually thought of as a made-up man used as a symbol for patriotism. However, Uncle Sam was based on a real-life individual, Sam Wilson, a New York meat packer. Nicknamed Uncle Sam by his coworkers, James Flagg used his name and face as a template for the poster.
The poster also combined parts of Flagg’s face, and a pose used by veteran Walter Botts. It was used in both World Wars, and is still an iconic image today."
Creator
James Montgomery Flagg
Date
1917
Source
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Unclesamwantyou.jpg
Rights
Source: Uncle sam. (2011, January 29). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 3, 2012, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Sam
Publisher
Library of Congress
Contributor
Library of Congress
Format
Medium: Poster
Language
English
Type
Artwork
Identifier
Military Service, Recruitment, U.S. Army, War
Coverage
United States
Files
Reference
James Montgomery Flagg, U.S. Army Recruitment Poster, Library of Congress, 1917
Cite As
James Montgomery Flagg, “U.S. Army Recruitment Poster,” Virtual Museum of Public Service, accessed March 16, 2025, https://vmps.omeka.net/items/show/158.