Society of the Cincinnati

 

The Society is named after Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, who left his farm to accept a term as Roman Consul and served as Magister Populi (with temporary powers similar to that of a modern-era dictator). He assumed lawful dictatorial control of Rome to meet a war emergency. When the battle was won, he returned power to the Senate and went back to plowing his fields. The Society's motto reflects that ethic of selfless service: Omnia reliquit servare rempublicam ("He relinquished everything to save the Republic").^[1] The Society has had three goals: "To preserve the rights so dearly won; to promote the continuing union of the states; and to assist members in need, their widows, and their orphans."^[2]

The concept of the Society of the Cincinnati was that of Major General Henry Knox.^[3] The first meeting of the Society was held in May 1783 at a dinner at the Verplanck House (present-day Mount Gulian), Fishkill, New York, before the British evacuation from New York City. The meeting was presided over by Major General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, with Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton serving as the orator.^[4] The participants agreed to stay in contact with each other after the war.^[5] Mount Gulian, von Steuben's headquarters, is considered the birthplace of the Society of the Cincinnati, where the Institution was formally adopted on May 13, 1783.^[6][7]

Membership was generally limited to officers who had served at least three years in the Continental Army or Navy, or had served until the end of the War; it included officers of the French Army and Navy above certain ranks. Officers in the Continental Line who died during the War were also entitled to be recorded as members, and membership would devolve to their eldest male heir.^[8] Members of the considerably larger fighting forces comprising the Colonial Militias and Minutemen were not entitled to join the Society. Within 12 months of the founding, a constituent Society had been organized in each of the 13 states and in France. Of about 5,500 men originally eligible for membership, 2,150 had joined within a year. King Louis XVI ordained the French Society of the Cincinnati, which was organized on July 4, 1784 (Independence Day). Up to that time, the King of France had not allowed his officers to wear any foreign decorations, but he made an exception in favor of the badge of the Cincinnati.^[9]

 

The Society's rules adopted a system of primogeniture, wherein membership was passed down to the eldest son after the death of the original member. Present-day hereditary members generally must be descended from an original member, an officer who died in service, or an officer who qualified for membership at the Society's founding but did not join. Each officer may be represented by only one descendant at any given time, following the rules of primogeniture. (The rules of eligibility and admission are controlled by each of the 14 Constituent Societies to which members are admitted. They differ slightly in each society, and some allow more than one descendant of an eligible officer.)^[10] The requirement for primogeniture made the society controversial in its early years, as the new states quickly did away with laws supporting primogeniture as remnants of the English feudal system.^[11]

George Washington was elected the first President General of the Society, serving from December 1783 until he died in 1799. The second President General was Alexander Hamilton, and after he died from wounds suffered in a duel in 1804, he was succeeded by Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.^[12]

The society's members have included notable military and political leaders, including 23 of the 39 signers of the United States Constitution.^[13]

 

On June 19, 1783, the General Society of the Cincinnati adopted the bald eagle, one of America's first post-revolution symbols and an important piece of American iconography, as its insignia. (The insignia was initially called an "order" in the Society's records.) It is the second official American emblem to use the bald eagle, following the Great Seal of the United States. The insignia may have been derived from the same discourse that produced the seal.^{[citation needed]}

The suggestion of the bald eagle as the Cincinnati insignia was made by Major Pierre L'Enfant, a French officer who joined the American Army in 1777, served in the Corps of Engineers, and became one of the first members of the Society. He observed that "[t]he Bald Eagle, which is unique to this continent, and is distinguished from those of other climates by its white head and tail, appears to me to deserve attention."^[14] In 1783, L'Enfant was commissioned to travel to France to have the first eagle badges made, based on his design).

The medallions at the center of the Cincinnati Eagle depict, on the obverse, Cincinnatus receiving his sword from Roman senators and, on the reverse, Cincinnatus at his plow being crowned by the figure of Pheme (a personification of fame). The Society's light blue and white colors symbolize the fraternal bond between the United States and France. While all Cincinnati Eagles conform to this general design, no single specific design is official. Over 50 variations of the eagle have been produced over the years.

A unique diamond-encrusted "eagle", referred to as the "Diamond Eagle", was given to George Washington by Admiral Comte d'Estaing on behalf of the officers of the French Navy. Washington received it on May 11, 1784, at the meeting of the General Society in Philadelphia. Upon Washington's death in 1799, it was given by his heirs to Alexander Hamilton, who succeeded Washington as President of the Society. Upon Hamilton's death, it was given to Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, who succeeded Hamilton as the Society's president. It has since served as the official insignia of the Society's president and is transferred when a new president takes office. In the late 20th century, a copy of the Diamond Eagle was made and worn by the president on occasions other than the Triennial Meeting.^[15]

A specially commissioned "eagle" worn by President General George Washington was presented to Marquis de Lafayette in 1824 during his grand tour of the United States. This badge remained in possession of the Lafayette family^[16] until sold at auction on December 11, 2007, for 5.3 million USD by Lafayette's great-great-granddaughter. Together with what is believed to be the original ribbon and red leather box, the badge was purchased by the Josée and René de Chambrun Foundation for display in Lafayette's bedroom at Chateau La Grange, his former home, thirty miles east of Paris; it may also be displayed at Mount Vernon, Washington's former home in Virginia.^[17] This was one of three eagles known to have been owned by Washington, who most often wore the "diamond eagle", a diamond-encrusted badge given him by the French matelots (sailors). That diamond eagle continues to be passed down to each President General of the Society of the Cincinnati as part of his induction into office.

The Cincinnati Eagle is displayed in various places of public importance, including Sawyer Point in Cincinnati (named for the Society), Ohio. A popular public square was built here to house a 15' bronze statue of Cincinnatus flanked by four masts flying the American, state, city, and Society flags. The flag of the Society displays blue and white stripes and a dark blue canton (containing a circle of 14 stars around the Cincinnati Eagle, representing the fourteen subsidiary societies) in the upper corner next to the hoist. Refer to the section below for the city's historical connection to the Society.

By Federal law, Society members may wear their eagles on their American military uniforms on ceremonial occasions.^[18] In practice, however, this has been rarely done since the early 20th century.

When news of the foundation of the society spread, judge Aedanus Burke published several pamphlets under the pseudonym Cassius where he criticized the society as an attempt at reestablishing a hereditary nobility in the new republic.^[19] The pamphlets, entitled An Address to the Freemen of South Carolina (January 1783) and Considerations on the Society or Order of Cincinnati (October 1783), sparked a general outcry that included prominent names, including Thomas Jefferson^[20] and John Adams.^[21] The criticism voiced concern about the apparent creation of a hereditary elite; membership eligibility is inherited through primogeniture and generally excluded enlisted men and militia officers unless they were placed under "State Line" or "Continental Line" forces for a substantial period, and their descendants.

Benjamin Franklin was among the Society's earliest critics. He was concerned about the creation of a quasi-noble order and of the Society's use of the eagle in its emblem, as evoking the traditions of heraldry and the English aristocracy. In a letter to his daughter Sarah Bache written on January 26, 1784, Franklin commented on the ramifications of the Cincinnati:

I only wonder that, when the united Wisdom of our Nation had, in the Articles of Confederation, manifested their Dislike of establishing Ranks of Nobility, by Authority either of the Congress or of any particular State, a Number of private persons should think proper to distinguish themselves and their Posterity, from their fellow Citizens, and form an Order of hereditary Knights, in direct Opposition to the solemnly declared Sense of their Country.^[22]

The influence of the Cincinnati members, former officers, was another concern. When delegates to the Constitutional Convention were debating the method of choosing a president, James Madison (the secretary of the convention) reported the following speech of Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts:

A popular election in this case is radically vicious. The ignorance of the people would put it in the power of some one set of men dispersed through the Union & acting in Concert to delude them into any appointment. He observed that such a Society of men existed in the Order of the Cincinnati. They are respectable, United, and influential. They will in fact elect the chief Magistrate in every instance, if the election be referred to the people. [Gerry's] respect for the characters composing this Society could not blind him to the danger & impropriety of throwing such a power into their hands.^[23]

The debate spread to France because of the eligibility of French veterans from the Revolutionary War. In 1785 Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau was approached by Franklin, who was at the time stationed in Paris, and suggested to him to write something about the society directed at the French public.^[24] Mirabeau was provided with Burke's pamphlets and Franklin's letter to his daughter, and from this, with the help of Nicolas Chamfort, created an enlarged version entitled Considérations sur l'Ordre de Cincinnatus which was published in London in November that year. An English translation by Samuel Romilly followed, of which an American edition was published in 1786.^[25]

Following this public debate and criticism, George Washington, who had been unaware of the particulars of the charter when he agreed to become president of the society, began to doubt the benefit of the society. At its first general meeting on May 4, 1784, he had considered abolishing the society.^[26] However, in the meantime, Major L'Enfant had arrived, bringing his designs of the diplomas and medals, as well as news of the success of the society in France, which made abolition of the society impossible. Washington instead delivered at the meeting an ultimatum that if the clauses about heredity were not abandoned, he would resign from his post as president of the society. This was accepted, and an informal agreement was made not to wear the eagles in public so as not to resemble European chivalrous orders. A new charter, the so-called Institution, was printed, which omitted, among others, the disputed clauses about heredity. This was sent to the local chapters for approval, which was approved in all of them except for the chapters in New York, New Hampshire, and Delaware. However, when the public furor about the society had died down, the new Institution was rescinded, and the original was reintroduced, including the clauses about heredity.^[27] The French chapter, which had obtained official permission to form from the king Louis XVI of France, also abolished heredity but never reintroduced it. Thus the last members were approved on February 3, 1792, shortly before the French monarchy was disbanded.^[28]

The members of Cincinnati were among those developing many of America's first and most prominent cities to the west of the Appalachians, most notably Cincinnati, Ohio,^[29] and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The first governor of the Northwest Territory, Arthur St. Clair, was a member of the Society.^[30] He renamed a small settlement "Cincinnati" to honor the Society and to encourage settlement by Society members. Among them was Captain Jacob Piatt,^[31] who settled across the river from Cincinnati in northern Kentucky on land granted to him for service during the War. Captain David Ziegler was the first Mayor of Cincinnati.

Lt. Ebenezer Denny (1761–1822), an original Pennsylvanian Cincinnatus,^[32] was elected the first mayor of the incorporated city of Pittsburgh in 1816. Pittsburgh developed from Fort Pitt, which had been commanded from 1777 to 1783 by four men who were founding members of the Society.

Richard Varick^[33] was a Mayor of New York City.

Today's Society supports efforts to increase public awareness and memory of the ideals and actions of the men who created the American Revolution and an understanding of American history, emphasizing the period from the outset of the Revolution to the War of 1812. At its headquarters at Anderson House in Washington, DC, the Society holds manuscript, portrait, and model collections about events of and military science during this period.^[34] Members of the Society have contributed to endow professorships, lecture series, awards, and educational materials concerning the United States representative democracy.^[35]

Over the years, membership rules have continued as they were first established. The definition and acceptance of membership have remained with the constituent societies rather than the General Society in Washington.^[36] An eligible officer of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War can be represented in the Society of the Cincinnati by only one male descendant at a time, successor members excepted. Collateral male heirs are accepted in some constituent societies if the direct male line dies out.^[37][38]

Each of the fourteen constituent societies admits honorary male members, but these men cannot designate an heir (a successor member).^[39] The only U.S. President who was a true hereditary member was Franklin Pierce. Andrew Jackson and Zachary Taylor were honorary members before becoming president. Other presidents became honorary members while in office and after leaving office.^[40]

The Society of the Cincinnati Prize recognizes the author of an outstanding work that advances understanding of the American Revolution and its legacy. Established in 1989 as a triennial award, the prize is now presented annually.^[41]

Since 1989, the authors awarded this prize are:

• 1989: Bernard Bailyn, Voyagers to the West: A Passage in the Peopling of America on the Eve of the Revolution
• 1992: P. D. G. Thomas, Tea Party to Independence: The Third Phase of the American Revolution
• 1995: Stanley M. Elkins and Eric L. McKitrick, The Age of Federalism
• 1998: Jack N. Rakove, Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution
• 2001: Saul Cornell, The Other Founders: Anti-Federalism and the Dissenting Tradition in America
• 2004: Elizabeth Fenn, Pox Americana: The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775–1782
• 2007: Alan Taylor, The Divided Ground: Indians, Settlers, and the Northern Borderland of the American Revolution
• 2010: Matthew H. Spring, With Zeal and With Bayonets Only: The British Army on Campaign in North America, 1775–1783
• 2013: Benjamin L. Carp, Defiance of the Patriots: The Boston Tea Party and the Making of America
• 2018: Eric Hinderaker, Boston's Massacre
• 2020: John Buchanan, The Road to Charleston: Nathanael Greene and the American Revolution
• 2021: T. Cole Jones, Captives of Liberty: Prisoners of War and the Politics of Vengeance in the American Revolution
• 2022: Kevin J. Weddle, The Compleat Victory: Saratoga and the American Revolution
• 2023: Friederike Baer, Hessians: German Soldiers in the American Revolutionary War^[42]

 

The General Society is headquartered at Anderson House, also known as the Larz Anderson House, at 2118 Massachusetts Avenue, NW in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The Anderson House also serves as a Society museum and research library. It is located on Embassy Row, near various international embassies.

Anderson House was built between 1902 and 1905 as the winter residence of Larz Anderson, an American diplomat, and his wife, Isabel Weld Perkins, an author and American Red Cross volunteer. The architects Arthur Little and Herbert Browne of Boston designed Anderson House in the Beaux-Arts style. Anderson House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and was further designated a National Historic Landmark in 1996.^[43][44]

The General Society's museum collections include portraits, armaments, and personal artifacts of Revolutionary War soldiers; commemorative objects; objects associated with the history of the Society and its members, including Cincinnati china and insignia; portraits and personal artifacts of members of the Anderson family; and artifacts related to the history of the house, including the U.S. Navy's occupation of it during World War II.^[45]

The library of the General Society of the Cincinnati collects, preserves, and makes available for research printed and manuscript materials relating to the military and naval history of the eighteenth century and early nineteenth century, with a particular concentration on the people and events of the American Revolution and the War of 1812. The collection includes various modern and rare materials, including official military documents, contemporary accounts and discourses, manuscripts, maps, graphic arts, literature, and many naval art and science works. In addition, the library is the home to the archives of the Society of the Cincinnati as well as a collection of material relating to Larz and Isabel Anderson.^[46] The library is open to researchers by appointment.

The Society of the Cincinnati created the American Revolution Institute (ARI) in 2012 to renew appreciation of the history and ideals of our revolutionary generation. ARI is an advocacy organization that promotes understanding and appreciation of the American Revolution and its legacy.^[47][48]

• American Independence Museum: The Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Hampshire owns and operates through a board of governors the American Independence Museum in Exeter, New Hampshire. The American Independence Museum is a private, not-for-profit institution whose mission is to provide a place for the study, research, education, and interpretation of the American Revolution and of the role that New Hampshire, Exeter, and the Gilman family played in the founding of the new republic. Museum collections include two rare drafts of the U.S. Constitution, an original Dunlap Broadside of the United States Declaration of Independence, as well as an original Badge of Military Merit, awarded by George Washington to soldiers demonstrating extraordinary bravery. Exhibits highlight the Society of the Cincinnati, the nation's oldest veterans' society, and its first president, George Washington. Permanent collections include American furnishings, ceramics, silver, textiles, and military ephemera.^[49]
• American Philosophical Society: many Cincinnati were among its first board members and contributors; the modern societies maintain informal, collegial relationships only^[50]

A list of notables from among the original members of the Society of the Cincinnati:^[51][52]

Source:^[53][54]

Source:^[56]

Since its inception, the Society of the Cincinnati has allowed honorary members to be admitted who have distinguished themselves in military or public service.^[57]

Every president who served in the eras of 1885 to 1923 (38 years), 1933 to 1953 (20 years), and 1981 to 1993 (12 years) was an honorary member of the Society.^[58][59] Presidents George Washington and James Monroe were original members of the Society, and President Franklin Pierce was a hereditary member.^[60] Zachary Taylor was admitted as an honorary member of the New York Society in 1847 and could have been a hereditary member of the Virginia Society by right of his father, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Taylor (d. 1826), had it been active at the time of his father's death.^[61]

• Theodore Roosevelt (1906)
• Elihu Root (1912)
• Woodrow Wilson (1919)
• Cordell Hull (1945)
• George C. Marshall (1953)

(Nobel Prize for Literature recipient Winston Churchill was a hereditary member of the Society.)

• Daughters of the Cincinnati
• Military Order of Foreign Wars
• Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States
• Order of the Founders and Patriots of America
• Sons of the American Revolution
• Sons of the Revolution

• Buck, William Bowen. The Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Jersey. The John L. Murphy Publishing Company, Printers for the Society of the Cincinnati in New Jersey, 1898.
• Callahan, North (1958). Henry Knox: General Washington's General. Rinehart.
• Chernow, Ron (2010). Washington: A Life. Penguin Press. ISBN 978-1-59420-266-7.
• Davis, Curtis Carroll. Revolution's Godchild: The Birth, Death, and Regeneration of the Society of the Cincinnati in North Carolina. The University of North Carolina Press for the North Carolina Society of the Cincinnati, 1976.

• Doyle, William (2009). "Chapter 4: "Aristocracy Avoided: America and the Cincinnati"". Aristocracy and its enemies in the age of revolution. Oxford University Press. pp. 86–137. ISBN 978-0199559855.
• Hill, Steven. The Delaware Cincinnati: 1783-1988. Dorrance & Company, Inc. for the Delaware Cincinnati Charitable Trust, 1988.
• Hoey, Edwin. "A New and Strange Order of Men," American Heritage. (v. 19, issue 5) August 1968.
• Hume, Edgar Erskine. General Washington's Correspondence Concerning The Society of the Cincinnati. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1941.
• Hünemörder, Markus. The Society of the Cincinnati: Conspiracy and Distrust in Early America. Berghahn Books, 2006.
• Lossing, Benson John Pictorial Fieldbook of the Revolution. Volume I. 1850.
• Metcalf, Bryce. Original Members and Other Officers Eligible to the Society of the Cincinnati. Shenandoah Publishing House, Inc., 1938.
• Myers, Minor. Liberty Without Anarchy: A History of the Society of the Cincinnati. University of Virginia Press, 1983.
• Olson, Lester C. Benjamin Franklin's Vision of American Community: A Study in Rhetorical Iconology. University of South Carolina Press, 2004.
• Puls, Mark (2008). Henry Knox: Visionary General of the American Revolution. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-2306-1142-9.
• Thomas, William Sturgis, Members of the Society of the Cincinnati, Original, Hereditary and Honorary; With a Brief Account of the Society's History and Aims New York: T.A. Wright, 1929.
• Warren, Winslow. The Society of the Cincinnati: A History of the General Society of the Cincinnati with the Institution of the Order, Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati, 1929.

 

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The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Cincinnati, Society of the

• Official website
• American Revolution Institute
• American Independence Museum
• Mount Gulian Historic Site
• Society of the Cincinnati Politician members at The Political Graveyard