Society of the Cincinnati

The Society of the Cincinnati was founded at the end of the American Revolutionary War by the Continental Officers and the French officers who participated. It was named for the Roman citizen-soldier Cincinnatus who twice left his farm and led a Roman legion to victory, then returned to his farm rather than acquiecse to the push for him to take political office. Ironically, George Washington was the General Society's first president. One of the older books in our collection, published in 1934, is the Sesquicentennial history and roster of the Society of the Cincinnati in the State of Virginia 1783-1933. The book includes the by-laws, signatures of the Parchment Roll signed in 1783, roll of 1783, extracts from the minutes of various meetings, officers of the General Society and the Virginia Society 1783-1933, Sesquicentennial roster of the Virginia Society for that time period, winners of the Virginia Society medals at the Virginia Military Institute, the College of William and Mary, the University of Virginia, and Washington and Lee University, and a list of officers elligible to be represented in the Society in Virginia. If you think you have an American Revolutionary officer in your past come take a look at this source to find out if he was a member of this exclusive society. The book can be found at R Gen 929.3755 HUM.