_Brother Jonathan_ (Vol. iii., p. 495.).--The origin of this term, as
applied to the United States, is given in a recent number of the
_Norwich Courier_. The editor says it was communicated by a gentleman
now upwards of eighty years of age, who was an active participator in
the scenes of the revolution. The story is as follows:
"When General Washington, after being appointed commander of the
army of the revolutionary war, came to Massachusetts to organize
it, and make preparations for the defence of the country, he found
a great want of ammunition and other means necessary to meet the
powerful foe he had to contend with, and great difficulty to
obtain them. If attacked in such condition, the cause at once
might be hopeless. On one occasion at that anxious period a
consultation of the officers and others was had, when it seemed no
way could be devised to make such preparations as were necessary.
His Excellency Jonathan Trumbull the elder was then governor of
the State of Connecticut, on whose judgment and aid the general
placed the greatest reliance, and remarked, 'We must consult
Brother Jonathan on the subject.' The general did so, and the
governor was successful in supplying many of the wants of the
army. When difficulties afterwards arose, and the army was spread
over the country, it became a by-word, 'We _must consult_ Brother
Jonathan.' The term Yankee is still applied to a portion, but
'Brother Jonathan' has now become a designation of the whole
country, as John Bull has for England."--_Dictionary of
Americanisms_, by John Russell Bartlett, 1849.