Society Of The Cincinnati
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The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
that saw the creation of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers who served in the
Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
. The Society has thirteen constituent societies in the United States and one in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. It was founded to perpetuate "the remembrance of this vast event" (the achievement of American Independence), "to preserve inviolate those exalted rights and liberties of human nature," and "to render permanent the cordial affection subsisting among the officers" of the Continental Army who served in the Revolutionary War. Now in its third century, the Society promotes public interest in the
Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
through its library and museum collections, publications, and other activities. It is the oldest patriotic, hereditary society in America.


History

The Society is named after Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, who left his farm to accept a term as
Roman Consul A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...
and served as Magister Populi (with temporary powers similar to that of a modern-era dictator). He assumed lawful dictatorial control of
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
to meet a war emergency. When the battle was won, he returned power to the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
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").Lewis, Alonzo Norton. ''The Venerable and Illustrious Order of the Cincinnati : "Omnia reliquit servare rempublicam." : 1783–1900 : History of the Connecticut State Society'', Hartford, Conn., 1900. 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." The concept of the Society of the Cincinnati was that of
Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving as chief of artillery in most of Washington's campaigns. Following the ...
. The first meeting of the Society was held in May 1783 at a dinner at the Verplanck House (present-day
Mount Gulian Mount Gulian is a reconstructed 18th century Dutch manor house on the Hudson River in the town of Fishkill, New York, United States of America. The original house served as the headquarters of Major General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben during th ...
),
Fishkill, New York Fishkill is a village (New York), village within the Fishkill (town), New York, town of Fishkill in Dutchess County, New York, Dutchess County, New York (state), New York, United States. The village is in the eastern part of the town of Fishkill o ...
, before the British evacuation from New York City. The meeting was presided over by
Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand von Steuben (born Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin Louis von Steuben; September 17, 1730 – November 28, 1794), also referred to as Baron von Steuben (), was a Prussian military officer who ...
, with
Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...
serving as the orator. The participants agreed to stay in contact with each other after the war.
Mount Gulian Mount Gulian is a reconstructed 18th century Dutch manor house on the Hudson River in the town of Fishkill, New York, United States of America. The original house served as the headquarters of Major General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben during th ...
, von Steuben's headquarters, is considered the birthplace of the Society of the Cincinnati, where the Institution was formally adopted on May 13, 1783. Membership was generally limited to
officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...
who had served at least three years in the
Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
or
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
, or had served until the end of the War; it included officers of the
French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...
and
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...
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. 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 France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. Of about 5,500 men originally eligible for membership, 2,150 had joined within a year.
King Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was e ...
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. The Society's rules adopted a system of
primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...
, 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.) 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.
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
was elected the first President General of the Society, serving from December 1783 until his death in 1799. The second President General was
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...
, and after he died from wounds suffered in a duel in 1804, he was succeeded by Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. The society's members have included notable military and political leaders, including 23 of the 39 signers of the
United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...
.


Insignia

On June 19, 1783, the General Society of the Cincinnati adopted the
bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...
as its insignia. (The insignia was originally referred to as an "order" in the Society's records.) It is one of America's first post-revolution symbols and an important piece of American iconography. 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. The suggestion of the bald eagle as the Cincinnati insignia was made by
Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
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 " e 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." In 1783, L'Enfant was commissioned to travel to France to have the first eagle badges made, based on his design. (L'Enfant later planned and partially laid out the city of
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
) The medallions at the center of the Cincinnati Eagle depict, on the
obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ...
, Cincinnatus receiving his sword from Roman senators and, on the
reverse Reverse or reversing may refer to: Arts and media * ''Reverse'' (Eldritch album), 2001 * ''Reverse'' (2009 film), a Polish comedy-drama film * ''Reverse'' (2019 film), an Iranian crime-drama film * ''Reverse'' (Morandi album), 2005 * ''Reverse'' ...
, Cincinnatus at his plow being crowned by the figure of
Pheme In Greek mythology, Pheme ( ; Greek: , ''Phēmē''; Roman equivalent: Fama), also known as Ossa in Homeric sources, was the personification of fame and renown, her favour being notability, her wrath being scandalous rumours. She was a daughte ...
(a personification of fame). The Society's colors, light blue and white, symbolize the fraternal bond between the United States and France. While all Cincinnati eagles conform to this general design, there is no single specific design which is official. Over the years, over 50 different variations of the eagle have been produced – in varying degrees of size, quality and number produced. A unique diamond encrusted "eagle", referred to as the "Diamond Eagle", was gifted to George Washington by Admiral
Comte d'Estaing Jean Baptiste Charles Henri Hector, comte d'Estaing (24 November 1729 – 28 April 1794) was a French general and admiral. He began his service as a soldier in the War of the Austrian Succession, briefly spending time as a prisoner of war of the ...
, on behalf the officers of the French Navy. It was received by Washington 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 Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...
, 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 ever 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, which is worn by the president on occasions other than the Triennial Meeting. A specially commissioned "eagle" worn by President General George Washington was presented to
Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revoluti ...
in 1824 during his grand tour of the United States. This badge remained in possession of the Lafayette family until sold at auction on December 11, 2007, for 5.3 million
USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
by Lafayette's great-great granddaughter. Together with what are believed to be the original ribbon and red leather box, the badge was purchased by the
Josée and René de Chambrun Foundation The Josée and René de Chambrun Foundation (french: Fondation Josée-et-René-de-Chambrun) is a French charitable foundation preserving Lafayette's home Château de la Grange-Bléneau. Recognized by the French government as a nonprofit organizat ...
for display in Lafayette's bedroom at Chateau La Grange, his former home, thirty miles east of
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
; it may also be displayed at
Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...
, Washington's former home in Virginia. This was one of three eagles known to have been owned by Washington, who most often wore the "
diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...
eagle", a diamond-encrusted badge given him by the French ''matelots'' (
sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. The profession of the s ...
s). 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 Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. A popular public square was built here to house a 15' bronze statue of Cincinnatus flanked by four masts flying the
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
, 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 Cincinnati. By Federal law, on ceremonial occasions, Society members may wear their eagles on their American military uniforms. In practice, however, this has been rarely done since the early 20th century.


Criticism

When news of the foundation of the society spread, judge
Aedanus Burke Aedanus Burke (June 16, 1743March 30, 1802) was a soldier, judge, and United States Representative from South Carolina. He was a slaveholder. Life Born in Tiaquin, County Galway in the Kingdom of Ireland, he attended the theological Colleg ...
published several pamphlets under the pseudonym ''Cassius'' where he criticized the society as an attempt at reestablishing a hereditary nobility in the new republic. 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 debate that included prominent names, including
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
and
John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
. The criticism voiced concern about the apparent creation of an hereditary elite; membership eligibility is inherited through
primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...
, and generally excluded
enlisted men An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States ...
and
militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
officers, unless they were placed under "State Line" or "Continental Line" forces for a substantial time period, and their descendants.
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
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 Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...
and the English aristocracy. In a letter to his daughter
Sarah Bache Sarah Bache (1771? – 23 July 1844), was an English hymn writer. She was born at Bromsgrove, but brought up at Worcester by relatives named Laugher, members of the Rev. Thomas Belsham's congregation. Rev. Timothy Laugher, of Hackney (d. 1769) ...
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.
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 President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
,
James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
(the secretary of the convention) reported the following speech of Elbridge Gerry of
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
:
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. erry'srespect for the characters composing this Society could not blind him to the danger & impropriety of throwing such a power into their hands.
The debate spread to France on account of the eligibility of French veterans from the Revolutionary War. In 1785
Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Count of Mirabeau (; 9 March 17492 April 1791) was a leader of the early stages of the French Revolution. A noble, he had been involved in numerous scandals before the start of the Revolution in 1789 that had left his re ...
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. Mirabeau was provided with Burke's pamphlets and Franklin's letter to his daughter, and from this, with the help of
Nicolas Chamfort Sébastien-Roch Nicolas, known in his adult life as Nicolas Chamfort and as Sébastien Nicolas de Chamfort (; 6 April 1741 – 13 April 1794), was a French writer, best known for his epigrams and aphorisms. He was secretary to Louis XVI's siste ...
, created his own enlarged version entitled ''Considérations sur l'Ordre de Cincinnatus'' which was published in London November that year, an English translation carried out by Samuel Romilly followed, of which an American edition was published in 1786. 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 have doubts about the benefit of the society. He had in fact considered abolishing the society on its very first general meeting May 4, 1784. 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 an abolishment of the society impossible. Washington instead at the meeting launched 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 furthermore 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, and it 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 reintroduced, including the clauses about heredity. The French chapter, which had obtained official permission to form from the king
Louis XVI of France Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
, also abolished heredity, but never reintroduced it, and thus the last members were approved February 3, 1792, shortly before the French monarchy was disbanded.


Later activities


City development by early members

The members of the Cincinnati were among those developing many of America's first and largest cities to the west of the Appalachians, most notably
Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
and
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. The first governor of the
Northwest Territory The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and formally known as the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, was formed from unorganized western territory of the United States after the American Revolutionary War. Established in 1 ...
, Arthur St. Clair, was a member of the Society. He renamed a small settlement "Cincinnati" to honor the Society and to encourage settlement by Society members. Among them were Captain Jacob Piatt, who settled across the river from Cincinnati in northern Kentucky on land granted to him for his service during the War. Captain David Ziegler was the first Mayor of Cincinnati. Lt.
Ebenezer Denny Ebenezer Denny (March 11, 1761July 21, 1822) was a soldier during the American Revolutionary War whose journal is one of the most frequently quoted accounts of the surrender of the British at the siege of Yorktown. Denny later served as the first M ...
(1761–1822), an original Pennsylvanian Cincinnatus, was elected the first mayor of the incorporated city of Pittsburgh in 1816. Pittsburgh developed from Fort Pitt, which had been commanded since 1777–1783 by four men who were founding members of the Society.
Richard Varick Richard Varick (March 15, 1753 – July 30, 1831) was an American lawyer, military officer, and politician who has been referred to as "The Forgotten Founding Father." A major figure in the development of post-Independence New York City and Stat ...
was a
Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...
.


Public awareness

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, with an emphasis on 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 pertaining to events of and military science during this period. Members of the Society have contributed to endow professorships, lecture series, awards, and educational materials in relation to the United States' representative democracy.


Membership rules

Over the years, membership rules have continued as first established. The definition and acceptance of membership has remained with the constituent societies rather than with the General Society in Washington. An eligible officer of the
Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
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. Each of the fourteen constituent societies admits honorary male members, but these men cannot designate an heir (referred to as a successor member). The only
U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
who was a true hereditary member was Franklin Pierce.
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
and
Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...
were honorary members before becoming president. Other presidents became honorary members while in office, and after leaving office.


The Society of the Cincinnati Prize

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. Since 1989, the authors awarded this prize are: *1989 –
Bernard Bailyn Bernard Bailyn (September 10, 1922 – August 7, 2020) was an American historian, author, and academic specializing in U.S. Colonial and Revolutionary-era History. He was a professor at Harvard University from 1953. Bailyn won the Pulitzer Pri ...
, ''Voyagers to the West: A Passage in the Peopling of America on the Eve of the Revolution'' *1992 –
P. D. G. Thomas Peter David Garner Thomas ( 1 May 1930 - 7 July 2020) was a Welsh historian specialising in 18th-century British and American politics. Thomas was born in Bangor, Wales, and educated at the University College of North Wales and University College ...
, ''Tea Party to Independence: The Third Phase of the American Revolution'' *1995 – Stanley M. Elkins and
Eric L. McKitrick Eric Louis McKitrick (July 5, 1919 – April 24, 2002) was an American historian, best known for ''The Age of Federalism: The Early American Republic, 1788–1800'' (1993) with Stanley Elkins, which won the Bancroft Prize in 1994. Life McKitrick ...
, ''The Age of Federalism'' *1998 – Jack N. Rakove, ''Original Meanings: Politics and Ideas in the Making of the Constitution'' *2001 –
Saul Cornell Saul Cornell, is the Paul and Diane Guenther Chair in American History at Fordham University. He was Professor of history at Ohio State University and the Director of the Second Amendment Research Center at the John Glenn Institute. Life He re ...
, ''The Other Founders: Anti-Federalism and the Dissenting Tradition in America'' *2004 –
Elizabeth Fenn Elizabeth Anne Fenn (born September 22, 1959) is an American historian. Her book '' Encounters at the Heart of the World: A History of the Mandan People'', won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for History. She serves as the Walter S. and Lucienne Driskill ...
, ''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 Eric A. Hinderaker (born 1959) is an American historian specializing in early America. Education and career Hinderaker graduated from Watertown High School (South Dakota) in 1977. He received his B.A. from Augustana College (now Augustana Uni ...
, ''Boston's Massacre''


Headquarters

The General Society is headquartered at Anderson House, also known as the Larz Anderson House, at 2118
Massachusetts Avenue Massachusetts Avenue may refer to: * Massachusetts Avenue (metropolitan Boston), Massachusetts ** Massachusetts Avenue (MBTA Orange Line station), a subway station on the MBTA Orange Line ** Massachusetts Avenue (MBTA Silver Line station), a stati ...
, NW in the
Dupont Circle Dupont Circle (or DuPont Circle) is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th Street NW to the east, 22nd Street NW ...
neighborhood of
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
The Anderson House also serves as a Society museum and research library. It is located on
Embassy Row Embassy Row is the informal name for a section of Northwest Washington, D.C. with a high concentration of embassies, diplomatic missions, and diplomatic residences. It spans Massachusetts Avenue N.W. between 18th and 35th street, bounded by ...
, near various international embassies. Anderson House was built between 1902 and 1905 as the winter residence of
Larz Anderson Larz Anderson (August 15, 1866 – April 13, 1937) was an American diplomat and ''bon vivant''. He served as second secretary at the United States Legation to the Court of St James's, London; as first secretary and later '' chargé d'affai ...
, an American diplomat, and his wife,
Isabel Weld Perkins Isabel Anderson (March 29, 1876 – November 3, 1948), , was a Boston heiress, author, and society hostess who left a legacy to the public that includes a park and two museums. Life Early life Born at 284 Marlborough Street in Boston's B ...
, an author and
American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...
volunteer. The architects Arthur Little and Herbert Browne of
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
designed Anderson House in the Beaux-Arts style. Anderson House was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1971 and was further designated a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1996. 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 The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
's occupation of it during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.


Library

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 The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
and the War of 1812. The collection includes a variety of modern and rare materials including official military documents, contemporary accounts and discourses, manuscripts, maps, graphic arts, literature, and many works on naval art and science. 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. The library is open to researchers by appointment.


American Revolution Institute

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 dedicated to promoting understanding and appreciation of the American Revolution and its legacy.


Affiliations

*
American Independence Museum The American Independence Museum is a historic house museum located in Exeter, New Hampshire. Its campus includes two buildings: the Ladd-Gilman House, a registered National Historic Landmark built in 1721 by Nathaniel Ladd, and the Folsom Tavern ...
: The Society of the Cincinnati in
the State A state is a centralized political organization that imposes and enforces rules over a population within a territory. There is no undisputed definition of a state. One widely used definition comes from the German sociologist Max Weber: a "stat ...
of
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
owns and operates through a board of governors the American Independence Museum in
Exeter, New Hampshire Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 16,049 at the 2020 census, up from 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood. ...
. 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 The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
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 The physical history of the United States Declaration of Independence spans from its original drafting in 1776 into the discovery of historical documents in modern time. This includes a number of drafts, handwritten copies, and published broadsid ...
of the
United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ...
, as well as an original
Badge of Military Merit The Badge of Military Merit was a military award of the United States Armed Forces. It is largely considered America's first military decoration, and the second oldest in the world (after the Cross of St. George). The award was only given to non- ...
, awarded by
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
to soldiers demonstrating extraordinary bravery. Exhibits highlight the Society of the Cincinnati, the nation's oldest veterans' society, and its first president,
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
. Permanent collections include American furnishings, ceramics, silver, textiles and military ephemera. *
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
: many Cincinnati were among its first board members and contributors; the modern societies maintain informal, collegial relationships only


Notable original members

A list of notables from among the original members of the Society of the Cincinnati: *General
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
– President of the United States and President General of the Society. *Brigadier General and Speaker of the Virginia State Senate Richard Kennon *
Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
– King of France *Lieutenant General the
Comte de Rochambeau Marshal Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, 1 July 1725 – 10 May 1807, was a French nobleman and general whose army played the decisive role in helping the United States defeat the British army at Yorktown in 1781 during the ...
*Chaplain and United States Senator
Abraham Baldwin Abraham Baldwin (November 22, 1754March 4, 1807) was an American minister, Patriot, politician, and Founding Father who signed the United States Constitution. Born and raised in Connecticut, he was a 1772 graduate of Yale College. After the ...
*Chaplain and Minister to France
Joel Barlow Joel Barlow (March 24, 1754 – December 26, 1812) was an American poet, and diplomat, and politician. In politics, he supported the French Revolution and was an ardent Jeffersonian republican. He worked as an agent for American speculator Wil ...
*Captain
Joshua Barney Joshua Barney (6 July 1759 – 1 December 1818) was an American Navy officer who served in the Continental Navy during the Revolutionary War and as a captain in the French Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars. He later achieved the rank o ...
, United States Navy (USN) *Commodore John Barry, USN *Colonel William Barton *Captain and U.S. Representative
Thomas Boude Thomas Boude (May 17, 1752October 24, 1822) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Thomas Boude was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Lancaster in the Province of Pennsylvania. During the American Revoluti ...
*Colonel and Delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention
David Brearly David Brearley (often misspelled as ''Brearly'') (June 11, 1745 – August 16, 1790) was an American Founding Father, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, a delegate from New Jersey to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which dra ...
*Surgeon's Mate Isaac Bronson *Lieutenant and U.S. Representative David Brooks *Major General and Governor John Brooks *Brigadier General
Henry Burbeck Henry Burbeck (June 10, 1754 – October 2, 1848) was a senior officer of the United States Army who served as the Commandant of the Corps of Artillerists and Engineers from 1798 to 1802. Early life Henry Burbeck was born in Boston on June 10 ...
*Lieutenant Colonel, Senator and Vice President
Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805. Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexand ...
*Captain
David Bushnell David Bushnell (August 30, 1740 – 1824 or 1826), of Westbrook, Connecticut, was an American inventor, a patriot, one of the first American combat engineers, a teacher, and a medical doctor. Bushnell invented the first submarine to be used in ...
– builder of the submarine ''Turtle'' *Major General Richard Butler *Lieutenant Colonel and Congressman
Edward Carrington Edward Carrington (February 11, 1748 – October 28, 1810) was an American soldier and statesman from Virginia. During the American Revolutionary War he became a lieutenant colonel of artillery in the Continental Army. He distinguished himself a ...
*Brigadier General, Governor and Vice President George Clinton *Brevet Major General
James Clinton Major General James Clinton (August 9, 1736 – September 22, 1812) was an American Revolutionary War officer who, with John Sullivan, led in 1779 the Sullivan Expedition in what is now western New York to attack British-allied Seneca and ...
*Captain
Richard Dale Richard Dale (November 6, 1756 – February 26, 1826) was an American naval officer who fought in the Continental Navy under John Barry and was first lieutenant for John Paul Jones during the naval battle off of Flamborough Head, England against ...
, USN *Captain Luke Day *Major General and Secretary of War
Henry Dearborn Henry Dearborn (February 23, 1751 – June 6, 1829) was an American military officer and politician. In the Revolutionary War, he served under Benedict Arnold in his expedition to Quebec, of which his journal provides an important record ...
*Captain
Ebenezer Denny Ebenezer Denny (March 11, 1761July 21, 1822) was a soldier during the American Revolutionary War whose journal is one of the most frequently quoted accounts of the surrender of the British at the siege of Yorktown. Denny later served as the first M ...
*Lieutenant Colonel
John Doughty John Doughty (July 25, 1754September 16, 1826) was an American military officer who briefly served as the senior officer of the United States Army in 1784. Holding the rank of major at the time, he bears the distinction of being the lowest ranke ...
*Surgeon and Secretary of War
William Eustis William Eustis (June 10, 1753 – February 6, 1825) was an early American physician, politician, and statesman from Massachusetts. Trained in medicine, he served as a military surgeon during the American Revolutionary War, notably at the Bat ...
*Colonel
Christian Febiger Hans Christian Febiger (or Fibiger) (October 19, 1749, in Fåborg, Denmark-Norway – September 20, 1796, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was an American Revolutionary War commander, confidant of General George Washington, and original membe ...
*Major
Nicholas Fish Nicholas Fish (August 28, 1758 – June 20, 1833) was an American Revolutionary War soldier. He was the first Adjutant General of New York. Early life Fish was born on August 28, 1758 into a wealthy New York City family. He was the son of Jon ...
*Brigadier General
Peter Gansevoort Peter Gansevoort (July 17, 1749 – July 2, 1812) was a Colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He is best known for leading the resistance to Barry St. Leger's Siege of Fort Stanwix in 1777. Gansevoort was also ...
*Major General
Horatio Gates Horatio Lloyd Gates (July 26, 1727April 10, 1806) was a British-born American army officer who served as a general in the Continental Army during the early years of the Revolutionary War. He took credit for the American victory in the Battles ...
*Captain
Nicholas Gilman Nicholas Gilman Jr. (August 3, 1755May 2, 1814) was an American Founding Father, a soldier in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, a delegate to the Continental Congress, and a signer of the U.S. Constitution, represent ...
*Colonel
William Grayson William Grayson (1742 – March 12, 1790) was a planter, lawyer and statesman from Virginia. After leading a Virginia regiment in the Continental Army, Grayson served in the Virginia House of Delegates before becoming one of the first two U ...
*Major General
Nathanael Greene Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependabl ...
*Major General
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...
(President General) *Brevet Brigadier General
Josiah Harmar Josiah Harmar (November 10, 1753August 20, 1813) was an officer in the United States Army during the American Revolutionary War and the Northwest Indian War. He was the senior officer in the Army for six years and seven months (August 1784 to Ma ...
*Major General Robert Howe *Brigadier General Isaac Huger *Major David Humphreys *Colonel Thomas Hunt *Major General Henry Jackson *Brevet Brigadier General
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
*Major William Jackson *Captain
John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...
, USN *Captain William Jones, USMC *Brigadier General
Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, an ...
*Major General
Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving as chief of artillery in most of Washington's campaigns. Following the ...
(Secretary General) *Major General the
Marquis de La Fayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revolutio ...
*Major General
Henry Lee III Henry Lee III (January 29, 1756 – March 25, 1818) was an early American Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot and U.S. politician who served as the ninth Governor of Virginia and as the Virginia United States House of Representatives, Repres ...
("Light Horse Harry") *Major Pierre L'Enfant *Major General and Governor Morgan Lewis (President General) *Major General
Benjamin Lincoln Benjamin Lincoln (January 24, 1733 ( O.S. January 13, 1733) – May 9, 1810) was an American army officer. He served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Lincoln was involved in three major surrender ...
*Captain James Lingan *Supreme Court Justice
Henry Brockholst Livingston Henry Brockholst Livingston (November 25, 1757 – March 18, 1823) was an American Revolutionary War officer, a justice of the New York Court of Appeals and eventually an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Early life ...
*Brevet Brigadier General and Governor George Mathews *Major and US Marshal
Allen McLane Allan McLane (August 8, 1746 – May 22, 1829) was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He was appointed as the first United States Marshal of Delaware in 1789, and as Customs Collector of the Port of Wilmingt ...
*Surgeon
Charles McKnight Charles McKnight (October 10, 1750 – November 16, 1791) was an American physician during and after the American Revolutionary War. He served as a surgeon and physician in the Hospital Department of the Continental Army under General George Wash ...
*Brigadier General
Lachlan McIntosh Lachlan McIntosh (March 17, 1725 – February 20, 1806) was a Scottish American military and political leader during the American Revolution and the early United States. In a 1777 duel, he fatally shot Button Gwinnett, a signer of the Declaratio ...
*Lieutenant Colonel
James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...
, President of the United States *Major, Secretary of State of Georgia
John Milton (Georgia politician) John Milton (c. 1740/1757–1817) was a Revolutionary War officer from a family of settlers in North Carolina who became a Colonial-era political figure that played a prominent role in the establishment and growth of the state of Georgia.Full text ...
*Brigadier General
Daniel Morgan Daniel Morgan (1735–1736July 6, 1802) was an American pioneer, soldier, and politician from Virginia. One of the most respected battlefield tacticians of the American Revolutionary War of 1775–1783, he later commanded troops during the sup ...
*Captain Alexander Murray, USN *Major
Samuel Nicholas Samuel Nicholas (1744 – 27 August 1790) was the first officer commissioned in the United States Continental Marines (predecessor to the United States Marine Corps) and by tradition is considered to be the first Commandant of the Marine Corps ...
, USMC *Captain John Nicholson, USN *Captain
Samuel Nicholson Samuel Nicholson (1743 – December 28, 1811) was an officer in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War and later in the United States Navy. Along with shipwright George Claghorn he oversaw the building of ("Old I ...
, USN *Brigadier General and Senator
William North William North (1755January 3, 1836) was an American soldier and politician. Early life William North was born in Bristol, Maine, Pemaquid, Maine, to John North and Elizabeth Pitson in 1755. John was an Irish immigrant and Elizabeth a native o ...
*Major, Governor and Senator
Aaron Ogden Aaron Ogden (December 3, 1756April 19, 1839) was an American soldier, lawyer, United States Senator and the fifth governor of New Jersey. Ogden is perhaps best known today as the complainant in '' Gibbons v. Ogden'' which destroyed the monopoly ...
(President General) *Brigadier General Andrew Pickens *Major General Charles C. Pinckney (President General) *Major General Thomas Pinckney (President General) *Major General, Senator and Governor
Thomas Posey Thomas Posey (July 9, 1750March 19, 1818) was an officer in the American Revolution, a general during peacetime, the third Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, Governor of the Indiana Territory, and a Louisiana Senator. Early life Family and back ...
*Brigadier General
Rufus Putnam Brigadier-General Rufus Putnam (April 9, 1738 – May 4, 1824) was an American military officer who fought during the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War. As an organizer of the Ohio Company of Associates, he was instrumental ...
*Lieutenant Colonel
Nathaniel Ramsey Nathaniel Ramsey (May 1, 1741– October 23, 1817) was an American lawyer and soldier from Cecil County, Maryland, Cecil County, Maryland. Ramsey fought in the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, and was a member of the Congress of ...
*Brevet Major
Winthrop Sargent Winthrop Sargent (May 1, 1753 – June 3, 1820) was a United States patriot, politician, and writer; and a member of the Federalist party. Early life Sargent was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts on May 1, 1753. He was one of eight children ...
*Major General and Senator
Philip Schuyler Philip John Schuyler (; November 18, 1804) was an American general in the Revolutionary War and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler. Born in Alba ...
*Major General and Congressman
William Shepard William Shepard (Contemporary records, which used the Julian calendar and the Annunciation Style of enumerating years, recorded his birth as November 20, 1737. The provisions of the British Calendar (New Style) Act 1750, implemented in 1752, ...
*Colonel
Henry Sherburne Henry Sherburne (March 28, 1611 – 1680) of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, landed there June 12, 1632 from London, a pioneer who rose to considerable wealth in pre-independence colonial New Hampshire. His descendant Samuel Sherburne built the 1766 (a ...
*Major General
William Smallwood William Smallwood (1732February 14, 1792) was an American planter, soldier and politician from Charles County, Maryland. He served in the American Revolutionary War, rising to the rank of major general. He was serving as the fourth Governor ...
*Lieutenant Colonel
William Stephens Smith William Stephens Smith (November 8, 1755 – June 10, 1816) was a United States representative from New York. He married Abigail "Nabby" Adams, the daughter of President John Adams, and so was a brother-in-law of President John Quincy A ...
*Major General Arthur St. Clair *Paymaster General
Caleb Swan Caleb Swan, was born in Methuen, Massachusetts July 2, 1758, but grew up in Fryeburg, Maine; he died in Washington D.C. November 11, 1809. Swan was the fifth Paymaster-General of the United States Army, serving from May 8, 1792, to June 30, 1808. ...
*Lieutenant Colonel
William Stacy William Stacy (February 15, 1734 – August 1802) was an officer of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and a pioneer to the Ohio Country. Published histories describe Colonel William Stacy's involvement in a variet ...
*Major General John Sullivan *Captain
Silas Talbot Captain Silas Talbot (January 11, 1751June 30, 1813) was an American military officer and slave trader. He served in the Continental Army and Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War, and is most famous for commanding from 1799 to ...
, USN *Brevet Lieutenant Colonel and Congressman
Benjamin Tallmadge Benjamin Tallmadge (February 25, 1754 – March 7, 1835) was an American military officer, spymaster, and politician. He is best known for his service as an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He acted as leade ...
*Lieutenant Colonel Richard Taylor *Lieutenant Colonel
Tench Tilghman Tench Tilghman (, December 25, 1744April 18, 1786) was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He served as an aide-de-camp to General George Washington, achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel. Tilghman rose ...
*Lieutenant Colonel and Governor
Jonathan Trumbull Jr. Jonathan Trumbull Jr. (March 26, 1740 – August 7, 1809) was an American politician who served as the 20th governor of Connecticut, the second speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and the 24th Lieutenant Governor of Connectic ...
*Brigadier General and Congressman
Philip Van Cortlandt Philip Van Cortlandt (September 1, 1749 – November 5, 1831) was an American surveyor, landowner, and politician from Westchester County, New York. Van Cortlandt was the son of Pierre Van Cortlandt and brother of Pierre Van Cortlandt, Jr. He ...
*Brigadier General
James Mitchell Varnum James Mitchell Varnum (December 17, 1748 – January 9, 1789) was an American legislator, lawyer, generalHeitman, ''Officers of the Continental Army'', 559. in the Continental Army, and a pioneer to the Ohio Country.Wilkins, ''Memoirs of the Rho ...
*Colonel
Axel von Fersen the Younger Hans Axel von Fersen (; 4 September 175520 June 1810), known as Axel de Fersen in France, was a Swedish count, Marshal of the Realm of Sweden, a General of Horse in the Royal Swedish Army, one of the Lords of the Realm, aide-de-camp to Rochamb ...
(French Army) *Lieutenant Colonel
Curt von Stedingk Curt Bogislaus Ludvig Kristoffer von Stedingk (26 October 1746 – 7 January 1837) was a count of the von Stedingk family, and a successful Swedish army officer and diplomat who played a prominent role in Swedish foreign policy for several decade ...
(French Army) *Major General Baron Von Steuben *Colonel and Mayor
Richard Varick Richard Varick (March 15, 1753 – July 30, 1831) was an American lawyer, military officer, and politician who has been referred to as "The Forgotten Founding Father." A major figure in the development of post-Independence New York City and Stat ...
*Major General
Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his mil ...
*Captain
Abraham Whipple Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jews ...
, USN *Brigadier General
Otho Holland Williams Otho Holland Williams (March 1, 1749 – July 15, 1794) was a Continental Army officer from Maryland in the American Revolutionary War. He participated in many battles throughout the war in the New York, New Jersey and Southern theaters, event ...
*Major David Ziegler *Major General
William Heath William Heath (March 2, 1737 – January 24, 1814) was an American farmer, soldier, and political leader from Massachusetts who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Life and career Heath m ...
*Brigadier General
William Hull William Hull (June 24, 1753 – November 29, 1825) was an American soldier and politician. He fought in the American Revolutionary War and was appointed as Governor of Michigan Territory (1805–13), gaining large land cessions from several Am ...
*Brigade Chaplain
John Gano John Gano (July 22, 1727– August 10, 1804) was a Baptist minister, soldier, and Revolutionary War chaplain who allegedly baptized his friend, General George Washington."Religion: Washington's Baptism" ''Time Magazine'', September 5, 1932 http: ...


Notable hereditary members


Military and naval officers

*General John K. Waters – Career Army officer. *Admiral
Hilary P. Jones Hilary Pollard Jones, Jr. (14 November 1863 – 1 January 1938) was an officer in the United States Navy during the Spanish–American War and World War I. During the early 1920s, he served as Commander in Chief, United States Fleet. Early life ...
– Commander of the United States Battle Fleet. *Admiral
John S. McCain Sr. John Sidney "Slew" McCain (August 9, 1884 – September 6, 1945) was a United States Navy, U.S. Navy Admiral (United States), admiral and the patriarch of the McCain military family. McCain held several command assignments during the Pacific War, ...
– Admiral during World War II and grandfather of former U.S. Senator
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
. *Admiral John S. McCain Jr. – Commander of
United States Pacific Command United States Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Armed Forces responsible for the Indo-Pacific region. Formerly known as United States Pacific Command (USPACOM) since its inception in 1947, ...
during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, and father of U.S. Senator
John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
. The two McCains are the only father-and-son four-star admirals in U.S. Navy history. *Admiral
Cameron McRae Winslow Cameron McRae Winslow (July 29, 1854 – January 2, 1932) served in the United States Navy during the Spanish–American War and World War I. A son of Commander Francis Winslow (I) (1818–1862), (Cameron's father, who also fought in the Civil War ...
– Admiral during World War I. *Lieutenant General
Ridgely Gaither Ridgely Gaither (February 23, 1903 – October 26, 1992) was a United States Army lieutenant general prominent as commander of the 40th Infantry Division during the Korean War, and commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps, U.S. Army Caribbean Comma ...
– Career Army officer. *Lieutenant General, Governor and Senator
Wade Hampton III Wade Hampton III (March 28, 1818April 11, 1902) was an American military officer who served the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War and later a politician from South Carolina. He came from a wealthy planter family, and ...
*Lieutenant General
John C.H. Lee John Clifford Hodges Lee (1 August 1887 – 30 August 1958) was a career US Army engineer, who rose to the rank of lieutenant general and commanded the Communications Zone (ComZ) in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. A gra ...
– Commander of the
Services of Supply The Services of Supply or "SOS" branch of the Army of the USA was created on 28 February 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department" and War Department Circular No. 59, dated 2 March 1942. Services of Supp ...
in the
European Theater The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the ...
. *Lieutenant General
Edward H. Brooks Lieutenant General Edward Hale Brooks (April 25, 1893 – October 10, 1978) was a senior officer of the United States Army, a veteran of both World War I and World War II, who commanded the U.S. Second Army during the Korean War. He received the ...
– World War II Corps Commander and World War I recipient of Distinguished Service Cross. *Major General
Lytle Brown Lytle Brown (November 22, 1872 – May 3, 1951) was a U.S. Army officer who fought in the Spanish–American War and participated in the Mexican Expedition of 1916. Brown served as Chief of Engineers from 1929 to 1933. Early life Born November ...
– Chief Engineer of the U.S. Army. *Major General
Silas Casey Silas Casey (July 12, 1807 – January 22, 1882) was a career United States Army officer who rose to the rank of major general during the American Civil War. Early life and military career Casey was born in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. He gradua ...
– Civil War general. *Major General
Thomas L. Crittenden Thomas Leonidas Crittenden (May 15, 1819 – October 23, 1893) was a lawyer, politician, and Union general during the American Civil War. Early life Crittenden was born in Russellville, Kentucky, the son of U.S. Senator John J. Crittenden, who ...
– Civil War general. *Major General Henry A. S. Dearborn – President General of the Society and congressman. *Major General William B. Franklin – Veteran of the Mexican War and the Civil War. *Major General
Edgar Erskine Hume Edgar Erskine Hume CBE FRSE MD (26 December 1889 – 24 January 1952) was an American physician, Major General in the U.S Army medical corps, writer and amateur ornithologist. At the time of his retirement from the Army he was the most decorat ...
– President General of the Society. *Major General Edwin Vose Sumner Jr. – Civil War and Spanish–American War veteran. *Rear Admiral
Charles Henry Davis Charles Henry Davis ( – ) was an American rear admiral of the United States Navy. While working for the U.S. Coast Survey, he researched tides and currents, and located an uncharted shoal that had caused wrecks off of the coast of New Yor ...
– Mexican and Civil War veteran. *Rear Admiral Henry Thatcher – Grandson of Major General
Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving as chief of artillery in most of Washington's campaigns. Following the ...
and Civil War veteran. *Rear Admiral
Nathan Crook Twining Nathan Crook Twining (17 January 1869 – 4 July 1924) was a rear admiral of the United States Navy. Biography Twining was born in Boscobel, Wisconsin, on 17 January 1869, the son of Nathan Crook Twining Sr. (1834–1924) and his second wife, Ma ...
*Brevet Major General
Nicholas Longworth Anderson Nicholas Longworth Anderson (April 22, 1838 – September 18, 1892) was a United States Army officer who served in the American Civil War as Colonel of the 6th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. After the Civil War, he was nominated and confirmed for appoin ...
*Brevet Major General
Henry Jackson Hunt Henry Jackson Hunt (September 14, 1819 – February 11, 1889) was Chief of Artillery in the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Considered by his contemporaries the greatest artillery tactician and strategist of the war, he was ...
– Union general in the Civil War. *Brigadier General
William Bancroft William Amos Bancroft (April 26, 1855 – March 11, 1922) was a Massachusetts businessman, soldier and politician who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and on the Common Council, Board of Aldermen, and as the Mayor of Cambrid ...
– Mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts and general during the Spanish–American War. *Brigadier General Thomas Lincoln Casey – Army engineer who oversaw completion of the
Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk shaped building within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (1775–1784) in the American Revolutionary War and the ...
. *Brigadier General
Thomas L. Crittenden Thomas Leonidas Crittenden (May 15, 1819 – October 23, 1893) was a lawyer, politician, and Union general during the American Civil War. Early life Crittenden was born in Russellville, Kentucky, the son of U.S. Senator John J. Crittenden, who ...
– Civil War general. *Brigadier General and President Franklin Pierce (Only president of the United States to be a hereditary member.) *Brigadier General
Cornelius Vanderbilt III Brigadier General Cornelius "Neily" Vanderbilt III (September 5, 1873 – March 1, 1942) was an American military officer, inventor, engineer, and yachtsman. He was a member of the Vanderbilt family. Early life Born in New York City to Cornelius ...
– World War I veteran. *Brevet Brigadier General
Hazard Stevens Hazard Stevens (June 9, 1842 – October 11, 1918) was an American military officer, mountaineer, politician and writer. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the Union army during the American Civil War at the Battle of Fort Huger ...
Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
recipient. *Captain
Alfred Brooks Fry Alfred Brooks Fry (March 3, 1860 – December 4, 1933), was a marine, mechanical and civil engineer. He was head of the New York Naval Militia and served on active duty during the Spanish–American War and World War I. He was chief engineer of th ...
, USNR – Marine engineer. *Lieutenant Colonel
Frederick Lippitt Frederick Lippitt (December 29, 1916 – May 11, 2005) was an American military officer, attorney, politician, public servant and philanthropist. He was the scion of a distinguished Rhode Island colonial family, the son of United States Senat ...
– Philanthropist. *Lieutenant Colonel
Benjamin Kendrick Pierce Benjamin Kendrick Pierce (August 29, 1790 – April 1, 1850) was a career officer in the United States Army. He was a son of New Hampshire Governor Benjamin Pierce and brother of President Franklin Pierce. Benjamin K. Pierce was a veteran of the ...
– Elder brother of President Franklin Pierce and veteran of the War of 1812, Seminole War and the Mexican War. *Major Archibald Butt – Presidential military aide who died on the ''
Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...
''. *Major Asa Bird Gardiner – Secretary General of the Society. *Major
Cornelius Vanderbilt IV Cornelius Vanderbilt IV (April 30, 1898July 7, 1974) was a newspaper publisher, journalist, author, and military officer. He was an outcast of high society, and was disinherited by his parents when he became a newspaper publisher. He desired to ...
– Newspaper editor.


Government officials

*President Franklin Pierce *Rt. Hon. Sir
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
KG, CH, FRS – Hereditary member of the Connecticut society; his great-grandson, Duncan Sandys, is currently a hereditary member of the Massachusetts Society. *Secretary of State, Senator and Governor
Hamilton Fish Hamilton Fish (August 3, 1808September 7, 1893) was an American politician who served as the 16th Governor of New York from 1849 to 1850, a United States Senator from New York from 1851 to 1857 and the 26th United States Secretary of State fro ...
– Long-time President General of the Society. *Secretary of War
Newton D. Baker Newton Diehl Baker Jr. (December 3, 1871 – December 25, 1937) was an American lawyer, Georgist,Noble, Ransom E. "Henry George and the Progressive Movement." The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, vol. 8, no. 3, 1949, pp. 259–269. w ...
*Supreme Court Justice
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (March 8, 1841 – March 6, 1935) was an American jurist and legal scholar who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932.Holmes was Acting Chief Justice of the Un ...
*Supreme Court Justice Stanley Forman Reed *Governor and United States Senator William H. Bulkeley – Governor of Connecticut and president of
Aetna Aetna Inc. () is an American managed health care company that sells traditional and consumer directed health care insurance and related services, such as medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans, ...
Insurance Company. *Governor
Horatio Seymour Horatio Seymour (May 31, 1810February 12, 1886) was an American politician. He served as Governor of New York from 1853 to 1854 and from 1863 to 1864. He was the Democratic Party nominee for president in the 1868 United States presidential elec ...
– Governor of New York. *Governor
DeWitt Clinton DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769February 11, 1828) was an American politician and naturalist. He served as a United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the seventh governor of New York. In this last capacity, he was largely res ...
– Governor of New York, U.S. Senator and Mayor of New York City. *Governor Robert Fiske Bradford – Governor of Massachusetts *Governor
Elisha Dyer Jr. Elisha Dyer Jr. (November 29, 1839November 29, 1906) was a Rhode Island politician who was 45th Governor of Rhode Island from 1897 to 1900. He was the son of Elisha Dyer, Governor of Rhode Island from 1857 to 1859. Early life Dyer was born in ...
– Governor of Rhode Island. *Governor
Wade Hampton III Wade Hampton III (March 28, 1818April 11, 1902) was an American military officer who served the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War and later a politician from South Carolina. He came from a wealthy planter family, and ...
– Governor of South Carolina. *Governor
William W. Hoppin William Warner Hoppin (September 1, 1807 – April 19, 1890) was the 24th Governor of Rhode Island from 1854 to 1857. Early life Hoppin was a native of Providence, Rhode Island. He graduated from the Hopkins School in 1824 and then went to Yal ...
– Governor of Rhode Island. *Governor
Charles Warren Lippitt Charles Warren Lippitt (October 8, 1846 – April 4, 1924) was an American politician and the 44th Governor of Rhode Island. Early life Lippitt was born in Providence, Rhode Island on October 8, 1846. He graduated from Brown University. Later, ...
– Governor of Rhode Island. *Governor
Robert Milligan McLane Robert Milligan McLane (June 23, 1815 – April 16, 1898) was an American politician, military officer, and diplomat. He served as U.S. minister to Mexico, France, and China, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland's 4t ...
– Governor of Maryland and ambassador to France. *Governor
LeBaron Bradford Prince LeBaron Bradford Prince (July 3, 1840December 8, 1922) was an American lawyer and politician who served as chief justice of the New Mexico Territorial Supreme Court from 1878 to 1882, and as the 14th Governor of New Mexico Territory from 1889 to ...
– Governor of New Mexico Territory. *Governor Thomas Stockton – Governor of Delaware. *Governor and Senator
George Peabody Wetmore George Peabody Wetmore (August 2, 1846September 11, 1921) was an American politician who was the 37th Governor of, and a Senator from, Rhode Island. Early life George Peabody Wetmore was born in London, England, during a visit of his parents ...
*Ambassador
Larz Anderson Larz Anderson (August 15, 1866 – April 13, 1937) was an American diplomat and ''bon vivant''. He served as second secretary at the United States Legation to the Court of St James's, London; as first secretary and later '' chargé d'affai ...
– Socialite and diplomat. *Ambassador Robert W. Bingham *Minister
Nicholas Fish II Nicholas Fish II (February 19, 1846–September 16, 1902) was a United States diplomat who served as the ambassador to Switzerland from 1877 to 1881 and the ambassador to Belgium from 1882 to 1885. In a widely reported crime of the time know ...
– Minister to Belgium. *Senator
Warren R. Austin Warren Robinson Austin (November 12, 1877 – December 25, 1962) was an American politician and diplomat who served as United States Senator from Vermont and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. A native of Highgate Center, Vermont, Austin wa ...
*Senator
James Watson James Dewey Watson (born April 6, 1928) is an American molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist. In 1953, he co-authored with Francis Crick the academic paper proposing the double helix structure of the DNA molecule. Watson, Crick and ...
– United States Senator from New York; a founder (1805) and the first president of the New England Society of New York. *Senator
Chauncey Depew Chauncey Mitchell Depew (April 23, 1834April 5, 1928) was an American attorney, businessman, and Republican politician. He is best remembered for his two terms as United States Senator from New York and for his work for Cornelius Vanderbilt, as ...
– Founder of the
Pilgrims Society The Pilgrims Society, founded on 16 July 1902 by Harry Brittain, Sir Harry Brittain KBE CMG, is a British-American society established, in the words of American diplomat Joseph Choate, 'to promote good-will, good-fellowship, and everlasting peace b ...
. *Senator
Theodore Francis Green Theodore Francis Green (October 2, 1867May 19, 1966) was an American politician from Rhode Island. A Democrat, Green served as the 57th Governor of Rhode Island (1933–1937) and in the United States Senate (1937–1961). He was a wealthy ari ...
– United States Senator from Rhode Island. *Senator
Charles Mathias Charles McCurdy Mathias Jr. (July 24, 1922 – January 25, 2010) was an American politician and attorney. A Republican, he served as a member of the United States Senate, representing Maryland from 1969 to 1987. He was also a member of the ...
– United States Senator from Maryland. *Senator
Claiborne Pell Claiborne de Borda Pell (November 22, 1918 – January 1, 2009) was an American politician and writer who served as a U.S. Senator from Rhode Island for six terms from 1961 to 1997. He was the sponsor of the 1972 bill that reformed the Basic ...
– Long serving Senator from Rhode Island. *Senator Hugh Doggett Scott Jr. – Congressman and United States senator from Pennsylvania. *Senator
Charles Sumner Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811March 11, 1874) was an American statesman and United States Senator from Massachusetts. As an academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the anti-slavery forces in the state and a leader of th ...
– Abolitionist senator from Massachusetts. *Congressman
Perry Belmont Perry Belmont (December 28, 1851 – May 25, 1947) was an American politician and diplomat. He served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1881 to 1888. Early life and education Belmont was born on December 28, 1851, in New York ...
*Congressman Horace Binney *Congressman
Hamilton Fish II Hamilton Fish II (April 17, 1849 – January 15, 1936) was an American lawyer and politician who served as Speaker of the New York State Assembly and a member of the United States House of Representatives. Early life Fish was born in Albany, Ne ...
*Congressman
Hamilton Fish III Hamilton Fish III (born Hamilton Stuyvesant Fish and also known as Hamilton Fish Jr.; December 7, 1888 – January 18, 1991) was an American soldier and politician from New York State. Born into a family long active in the state, he served in t ...
– College Football Hall of Fame inductee. *Congressman
Foster Stearns Foster Waterman Stearns (July 29, 1881 – June 4, 1956) was a U.S. Representative from New Hampshire. Biography Born in Hull, Massachusetts, Stearns attended public schools. He graduated from Amherst College in 1903, Harvard University in 1906 ...
*Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court Milledge Lipscomb Bonham *Mayor Carter Harrison Jr. – Mayor of Chicago *United States Attorney
George Read III George Read III (June 4, 1787 – November 1, 1836) was an American lawyer who served as the second U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware taking over for his father. Family George Read Jr. was born in the Read mansion on June 4, 17 ...


Others

*Captain Waldron Phoenix Belknap Jr. – art historian, architect, and soldier *Henry L. P. Beckwith – Heraldist, historian and genealogist. Living and self-listed. *Major
John Vernou Bouvier III John Vernou "Black Jack" Bouvier III ( ; May 19, 1891 – August 3, 1957) was an American Wall Street stockbroker and socialite. He was the father of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and of socialite Lee Radziwill, and was the father-in-law ...
– Stockbroker and socialite. *
John Nicholas Brown I John Nicholas Brown I (December 17, 1861 – May 1, 1900) was an American book collector who donated his father's collection to Brown University. Early life John Nicholas Brown was born on December 17, 1861 to John Carter Brown II (1797–1874) ...
– Book collector and philanthropist. *The Honorable John Nicholas Brown – Philanthropist. *
Joseph Cotten Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of '' The Philadelphia Story'' and ''Sabr ...
– Actor *
Benjamin Apthorp Gould Benjamin Apthorp Gould (September 27, 1824 – November 26, 1896) was a pioneering American astronomer. He is noted for creating the ''Astronomical Journal'', discovering the Gould Belt, and for founding of the Argentine National Observatory and ...
– Astronomer. *Reverend
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...
– great-grandson of
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...
*Commodore
Arthur Curtiss James Arthur Curtiss James (June 1, 1867 – June 4, 1941) was a wealthy speculator in copper mines and railroads. Early life He was the son of Daniel Willis James and Ellen S. Curtiss. His grandfather was Daniel James, one of the founders of Phel ...
– Investor and yachtsman. *
Lewis Cass Ledyard Lewis Cass Ledyard (April 4, 1851 – January 27, 1932) was a New York City lawyer. He was a partner at the firm Carter Ledyard & Milburn, personal counsel to J.P. Morgan, and a president of the New York City Bar Association. Early life Lewis ...
– Lawyer and socialite. *Lieutenant Colonel
Frederick Lippitt Frederick Lippitt (December 29, 1916 – May 11, 2005) was an American military officer, attorney, politician, public servant and philanthropist. He was the scion of a distinguished Rhode Island colonial family, the son of United States Senat ...
– Philanthropist. *
Alfred Lee Loomis Alfred Lee Loomis (November 4, 1887 – August 11, 1975) was an American attorney, investment banker, philanthropist, scientist, physicist, inventor of the LORAN Long Range Navigation System and a lifelong patron of scientific research. He estab ...
– Scientist and inventor. *
Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou Louis Alphonse de BourbonHis name is given as "Prince Louis Alphonse of Bourbon and Martínez-Bordiú, Duke of Anjou" by Olga S. Opfell in ''Royalty who Wait: The 21 Heads of Formerly Regnant Houses of Europe'' (2001), p. 11. ( es, Luis Alfonso ...
– Claimant to the French throne. (Representing King
Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
.) *The Right Reverend
James DeWolf Perry James DeWolf Perry (October 3, 1871 – March 20, 1947) was an American Episcopal clergyman and prelate. He was the 7th Bishop of Rhode Island (1911–1946) and the 18th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (1930–1937). Biography The ...
– Presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. *The Right Reverend
William Stevens Perry William Stevens Perry (January 22, 1832 – May 13, 1898) was a 19th-century bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America and an educator. He served as the second bishop of the Diocese of Iowa from 1876 to 1898. Bio ...
– Episcopal bishop of Iowa. *
Sylvanus Albert Reed Sylvanus Albert Reed (8 April 1854 – 1 October 1935) was an American aerospace engineer who developed the modern metal aircraft propeller. Early life and career Reed Graduated from Columbia University in 1874. He worked as an engineer special ...
– Aeronautical engineer. * Alexander H. Rice Jr. – Geographer. *
Alexander S. Webb Alexander Stewart Webb (February 15, 1835 – February 12, 1911) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War who received the Medal of Honor for gallantry at the Battle of Gettysburg. After the war, he w ...
– Banker.


Notable honorary members

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


Presidents of the United States

*
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
*
Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...
*
James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...
*
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
*
Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...
*
Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 23rd president of the United States from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia–a grandson of the ninth pr ...
*
William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...
*
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
*
William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
*
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
*
Warren Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. ...
*
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
*
Harry S Truman Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...
*
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
*
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
Note – Every president who served in the eras of 1885 to 1923 (38 years) and from 1933 to 1953 (20 years) was an honorary member of the Society. Presidents George Washington and James Monroe were original members of the Society and President Franklin Pierce was an hereditary member. 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.Metcalf, pp. 306 and 358.


Nobel Peace Prize recipients

*
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
(1906) *
Elihu Root Elihu Root (; February 15, 1845February 7, 1937) was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and statesman who served as Secretary of State and Secretary of War in the early twentieth century. He also served as United States Senator from N ...
(1912) *
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
(1919) *
Cordell Hull Cordell Hull (October 2, 1871July 23, 1955) was an American politician from Tennessee and the longest-serving U.S. Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years (1933–1944) in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ...
(1945) *
George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the US Army under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry ...
(1953) (Nobel Prize for Literature recipient
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
was a hereditary member of the Society.)


Naval officers

*
Admiral of the Navy Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...
George Dewey George Dewey (December 26, 1837January 16, 1917) was Admiral of the Navy, the only person in United States history to have attained that rank. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War, with ...
* Fleet Admiral
William D. Leahy William Daniel Leahy () (May 6, 1875 – July 20, 1959) was an American naval officer who served as the most senior United States military officer on active duty during World War II. He held multiple titles and was at the center of all major ...
*Fleet Admiral
Ernest J. King Ernest Joseph King (23 November 1878 – 25 June 1956) was an American naval officer who served as Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (COMINCH) and Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) during World War II. As COMINCH-CNO, he directed the Un ...
*Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz *Fleet Admiral
William Halsey William Frederick "Bull" Halsey Jr. (October 30, 1882 – August 16, 1959) was an American United States Navy, Navy admiral during World War II. He is one of four officers to have attained the rank of five-star Fleet admiral (United States), f ...
*Admiral
David G. Farragut David Glasgow Farragut (; also spelled Glascoe; July 5, 1801 – August 14, 1870) was a flag officer of the United States Navy during the American Civil War. He was the first rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral in the United States Navy. ...
*Admiral
David Dixon Porter David Dixon Porter (June 8, 1813 – February 13, 1891) was a United States Navy admiral and a member of one of the most distinguished families in the history of the U.S. Navy. Promoted as the second U.S. Navy officer ever to attain the rank o ...
*Admiral William S. Sims *Admiral
Arleigh Burke Arleigh Albert Burke (October 19, 1901 – January 1, 1996) was an admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself during World War II and the Korean War, and who served as Chief of Naval Operations during the Eisenhower and Kenne ...
*Admiral
James L. Holloway III James Lemuel Holloway III (February 23, 1922 – November 26, 2019) was a United States Navy admiral and naval aviator who was decorated for his actions during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. After the Vietnam War, he was poste ...
*Rear Admiral Caspar F. Goodrich *Rear Admiral
Samuel E. Morison Samuel Eliot Morison (July 9, 1887 – May 15, 1976) was an American historian noted for his works of maritime history and American history that were both authoritative and popular. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1912, and tau ...
*Rear Admiral
Alan Shepard Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was an American astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot, and businessman. In 1961, he became the second person and the first American to travel into space and, in 1971, he beca ...
*Rear Admiral Charles Stewart *Commodore
William Bainbridge William Bainbridge (May 7, 1774July 27, 1833) was a Commodore in the United States Navy. During his long career in the young American Navy he served under six presidents beginning with John Adams and is notable for his many victories at sea. He ...
*Commodore
Stephen Decatur Stephen Decatur Jr. (; January 5, 1779 – March 22, 1820) was an American naval officer and commodore. He was born on the eastern shore of Maryland in Worcester County. His father, Stephen Decatur Sr., was a commodore in the Unite ...
*Commodore Isaac Hull *Commodore
Thomas Macdonough Thomas Macdonough, Jr. (December 31, 1783 – November 10, 1825) was an early-19th-century Irish-American naval officer noted for his roles in the first Barbary War and the War of 1812. He was the son of a revolutionary officer, Thomas Macdonou ...
*Commodore
Matthew C. Perry Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a commodore of the United States Navy who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). He played a leading role in the o ...
*Commodore
Oliver Hazard Perry Oliver Hazard Perry (August 23, 1785 – August 23, 1819) was an American naval commander, born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. The best-known and most prominent member of the Perry family naval dynasty, he was the son of Sarah Wallace A ...
*Captain
Jesse Elliott Jesse Duncan Elliott (14 July 1782 – 10 December 1845) was a United States naval officer and commander of American naval forces in Lake Erie during the War of 1812, especially noted for his controversial actions during the Battle of Lake Erie. ...
*Captain
Thomas Truxton Thomas Truxtun (or Truxton) (February 17, 1755 – May 5, 1822) was an American naval officer after the Revolutionary War, when he served as a privateer, who rose to the rank of commodore in the late eighteenth century and later served in the Quas ...
*Captain
Lewis Warrington Lewis Warrington (3 November 1782 – 12 October 1851) was an officer in the United States Navy during the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812. He later became a Captain. He temporarily served as the Secretary of the Navy. His highest rank w ...


Marine Corps officers

*General Thomas Holcomb *Major General John A. Lejeune *General
Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr. Lemuel Cornick Shepherd Jr. (February 10, 1896 – August 6, 1990) was a four-star general of the United States Marine Corps. A veteran of World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, he was the 20th Commandant of the Marine Corps. As Co ...


Army officers

*General of the Armies John J. Pershing *General of the Army
George C. Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the US Army under Pre ...
*General of the Army
Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...
*General of the Army
Omar Bradley Omar Nelson Bradley (February 12, 1893April 8, 1981) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the United States Army during and after World War II, rising to the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. Bradley ...
*General
William T. Sherman William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
*General
Philip H. Sheridan Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
*General
Peyton C. March General Peyton Conway March (December 27, 1864April 13, 1955) was a senior officer of the United States Army. He served in the Philippines, on the Mexican border, and World War I. March was the ninth Chief of Staff from 1918 to 1921, accomplish ...
*General Mark Clark *General
Lucius D. Clay General Lucius Dubignon Clay (April 23, 1898 – April 16, 1978) was a senior officer of the United States Army who was known for his administration of occupied Germany after World War II. He served as the deputy to General of the Army Dwight D ...
*General Matthew B. Ridgway *General
Norman Schwarzkopf Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. (; August 22, 1934 – December 27, 2012) was a United States Army general. While serving as the commander of United States Central Command, he led all coalition forces in the Gulf War. Born in Trenton, Ne ...
*General
William Westmoreland William Childs Westmoreland (March 26, 1914 – July 18, 2005) was a United States Army general, most notably commander of United States forces during the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968. He served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from ...
*General
John W. Nicholson Jr. John William "Mick" Nicholson Jr. (born May 8, 1957) is a retired United States Army four-star general who last commanded U.S. Forces – Afghanistan (USFOR-A) and the 41-nation NATO-led Resolute Support Mission from March 2, 2016, to September ...
*Lieutenant General John M. Schofield *Lieutenant General
Nelson A. Miles Nelson Appleton Miles (August 8, 1839 – May 15, 1925) was an American military general who served in the American Civil War, the American Indian Wars, and the Spanish–American War. From 1895 to 1903, Miles served as the last Commanding Gen ...
*Lieutenant General
Wade Hampton III Wade Hampton III (March 28, 1818April 11, 1902) was an American military officer who served the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War and later a politician from South Carolina. He came from a wealthy planter family, and ...
, CSA *Brevet Lieutenant General
Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861, taking part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early s ...
*Major General
Jacob Brown Jacob Jennings Brown (May 9, 1775 – February 24, 1828) was known for his victories as an American army officer in the War of 1812, where he reached the rank of general. His successes on the northern border during that war made him a national ...
*Major General
George G. Meade George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 – November 6, 1872) was a United States Army officer and civil engineer best known for decisively defeating Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. H ...
*Major General
Lewis Morris Lewis Morris (April 8, 1726 – January 22, 1798) was an American Founding Father, landowner, and developer from Morrisania, New York, presently part of Bronx County. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Continen ...
*Major General John E. Wool *Major General
Winfield Scott Hancock Winfield Scott Hancock (February 14, 1824 – February 9, 1886) was a United States Army officer and the Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1880. He served with distinction in the Army for four decades, including service ...
*Major General Oliver O. Howard *Major General Hugh L. Scott *Major General
Leonard Wood Leonard Wood (October 9, 1860 – August 7, 1927) was a United States Army major general, physician, and public official. He served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Military Governor of Cuba, and Governor-General of the Philippi ...
*Brevet Major General Robert Anderson *Brevet Major General
George Cadwalader George Cadwalader (May 16, 1806 – February 3, 1879) was a general in the United States Army during the Mexican–American War and American Civil War. Biography Cadwalader was born and raised in Philadelphia. He studied law and was admitted to th ...
*Brevet Major General
Galusha Pennypacker Uriah Galusha Pennypacker (June 1, 1841/1844 – October 1, 1916) was a Union general during the American Civil War. He may be the youngest person to hold the rank of brigadier general in the US Army; at the age of 20, he remains the only general ...
*Brevet Major General
Nathan Towson Nathaniel Towson (; January 22, 1784 July 20, 1854), also known as Nathan Towson, was a brevet major general in the United States Army. A career soldier, he fought in the War of 1812 as an artillery officer. He served as paymaster of the Army af ...
*Brevet Major General
Alexander S. Webb Alexander Stewart Webb (February 15, 1835 – February 12, 1911) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War who received the Medal of Honor for gallantry at the Battle of Gettysburg. After the war, he w ...
*Brevet Major General
William Jenkins Worth William Jenkins Worth (March 1, 1794 – May 7, 1849) was an American officer during the War of 1812, the Second Seminole War, and the Mexican–American War. Early military career Worth was commissioned as a first lieutenant in March 1813, s ...
*Brigadier General and Sears Roebuck Chairman
Robert E. Wood Robert Elkington Wood (June 13, 1879 – November 6, 1969) was an American military officer and business executive. After retiring from the U.S. Army as a brigadier general, Wood had a successful career as a corporate executive, most notabl ...
*Brigadier General
John W. Nicholson John William "Jack" Nicholson Sr. (born February 22, 1934) is an American retired Brigadier General of the United States Army who was appointed secretary of the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) by President George W. Bush in January 2 ...
*Brevet Brigadier General, Ambassador to France and Medal of Honor Recipient
Horace Porter Horace Porter (April 15, 1837May 29, 1921) was an American soldier and diplomat who served as a lieutenant colonel, ordnance officer and staff officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War, personal secretary to General and President Ul ...
*Colonel
Samuel Miles Samuel Miles (March 11, 1740 – December 29, 1805) was an American military officer and politician, as well as an influential businessman and politician, active in Pennsylvania before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. Milita ...


Government officials

*Secretary of the Navy
Charles Francis Adams III Charles Francis Adams III (August 2, 1866 – June 10, 1954) was an American lawyer and politician, who served as the 44th United States Secretary of the Navy under President Herbert Hoover from 1929 to 1933. He was skipper of the Resolute which ...
*Secretary of War
Newton D. Baker Newton Diehl Baker Jr. (December 3, 1871 – December 25, 1937) was an American lawyer, Georgist,Noble, Ransom E. "Henry George and the Progressive Movement." The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, vol. 8, no. 3, 1949, pp. 259–269. w ...
*Secretary of State
James F. Byrnes James Francis Byrnes ( ; May 2, 1882 – April 9, 1972) was an American judge and politician from South Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in U.S. Congress and on the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as in the executive branch, ...
*Postmaster General
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
*Secretary of the Army Gordon Gray *Secretary of State
Cordell Hull Cordell Hull (October 2, 1871July 23, 1955) was an American politician from Tennessee and the longest-serving U.S. Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years (1933–1944) in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ...
*Secretary of State and Senator
Elihu Root Elihu Root (; February 15, 1845February 7, 1937) was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and statesman who served as Secretary of State and Secretary of War in the early twentieth century. He also served as United States Senator from N ...
*Secretary of State and Senator
Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison, ...
*Attorney General Elliot L. Richardson *Supreme Court Justice
Owen Roberts Owen Josephus Roberts (May 2, 1875 – May 17, 1955) was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1930 to 1945. He also led two Roberts Commissions, the first of which investigated the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the sec ...
*Governor
William Paca William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
*Governor
Colgate Darden Colgate Whitehead Darden Jr. (February 11, 1897 – June 9, 1981) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician aligned with the Byrd Organization who served as U.S. Representative from Virginia (1933–37, 1939–41), the 54th Governor of ...
*Governor
John Franklin Fort John Franklin Fort (March 20, 1852 – November 17, 1920) was an American Republican Party politician, who served as the 33rd governor of New Jersey, from 1908 to 1911. His uncle, George Franklin Fort, was a Democratic Governor of New Jersey fro ...
*Governor
Charles Dean Kimball Charles Dean Kimball (September 13, 1859 – December 8, 1930) was an American politician and the 47th Governor of Rhode Island. Early life Kimball was born in Providence, Rhode Island, on September 13, 1859, as the son of Emery S. Kimball an ...
*Governor Everett Lake *Governor
Jonathan Trumbull Jonathan Trumbull Sr. (October 12, 1710August 17, 1785) was an American politician and statesman who served as Governor of Connecticut during the American Revolution. Trumbull and Nicholas Cooke of Rhode Island were the only men to serve as gov ...
*Senator
Charles Carroll of Carrollton Charles Carroll (September 19, 1737 – November 14, 1832), known as Charles Carroll of Carrollton or Charles Carroll III, was an Irish-American politician, planter, and signatory of the Declaration of Independence. He was the only Catholic sign ...
*Senator
Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen (August 4, 1817May 20, 1885) was an American lawyer and politician from New Jersey who served as a U.S. Senator and later as United States Secretary of State under President Chester A. Arthur. Early life and e ...
*Senator
Henry A. du Pont Henry Algernon du Pont (July 30, 1838 – December 31, 1926) was an American military officer, businessman, and politician from Delaware. A member of the famed du Pont family, he graduated first in his class from West Point shortly after the ...
*Senator
Walter F. George Walter Franklin George (January 29, 1878 – August 4, 1957) was an American politician from the state of Georgia. He was a longtime Democratic United States Senator from 1922 to 1957 and was President pro tempore of the United States Sen ...
*Senator
Rufus King Rufus King (March 24, 1755April 29, 1827) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, politician, and diplomat. He was a delegate for Massachusetts to the Continental Congress and the Philadelphia Convention and was one of the signers of the Unit ...
*Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. *Senator
Gouverneur Morris Gouverneur Morris ( ; January 31, 1752 – November 6, 1816) was an American statesman, a Founding Father of the United States, and a signatory to the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. He wrote the Preamble to the U ...
*Senator
Leverett Saltonstall Leverett A. Saltonstall (September 1, 1892June 17, 1979) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He served three two-year terms as the List of Governors of Massachusetts, 55th Governor of Massachusetts, and for more than twent ...
*Senator
William Paine Sheffield Sr. William Paine Sheffield (August 30, 1820June 2, 1907) was a United States representative and Senator from Rhode Island. Biography Born in New Shoreham (on Block Island), he completed preparatory studies, attended Kingston Academy, and gradu ...
*Congressman
Butler Ames Butler Ames (August 22, 1871 – November 6, 1954) was an American politician, engineer, soldier and businessman. He was the son of Adelbert Ames and grandson of Benjamin Franklin Butler, both decorated generals in the Union Army during the Ame ...
*Congressman
Charles S. Dewey Charles Schuveldt Dewey (November 10, 1880 – December 27, 1980) was a banker and politician from Illinois. The cousin of George Dewey, Charles S. Dewey entered the real estate business in Chicago, Illinois in 1905. He served in the United S ...
*Congressman William Paine Sheffield Jr. *Delegate
William Floyd William Floyd (December 17, 1734 – August 4, 1821) was an American Founding Father, wealthy farmer, and political leader from New York. Floyd served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and was a signer of the Continental Association and ...
*Ambassador
Amory Houghton Amory Houghton (July 27, 1899 – February 21, 1981) served as United States Ambassador to France from 1957 to 1961 and as national president of the Boy Scouts of America. He was chairman of the board of Corning Glass Works (1941–1961). In 195 ...
*Ambassador Weston Adams (diplomat) *Ambassador Francis L. Kellogg *Ambassador J. William Middendorf *Lieutenant Governor Stephen Van Rensselaer *Lieutenant Governor
Pierre Van Cortlandt Pierre Van Cortlandt (January 10, 1721 – May 1, 1814) was an American politician who served as the first Lieutenant Governor of New York. He was first elected to the New York Assembly in March 1768 and served in that body as the representative ...
*Chancellor
Robert R. Livingston Robert Robert Livingston (November 27, 1746 (Old Style November 16) – February 26, 1813) was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat from New York, as well as a Founding Father of the United States. He was known as "The Chancellor", afte ...
*Justice James T. Mitchell *Judge
Hardy Cross Dillard Hardy Cross Dillard (23 October 1902 – 12 May 1982) was an American jurist who served as a judge on the International Court of Justice from 1970 to 1979,Margolick, David 1982, "Hardy Cross Dillard, 79, Dies; Ex-Judge on the World Court.", The ...
*Judge
Charles G. Garrison Charles Grant Garrison (August 3, 1849 – April 22, 1924) was a physician, lawyer, and judge from New Jersey. Garrison was born in Swedesboro, New Jersey on August 3, 1849, the son of Rev. Joseph Fithian Garrison (1823–1892) and Elizabeth Vanar ...
*Mayor Louis R. Cheney *FBI Director
J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation  ...
*Commissary General
John Barker Church John Barker Church, John Carter, (October 30, 1748 – April 27, 1818) was an English born businessman and supplier of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He returned to England after the Revolutionary War and served in the Hous ...
.


Civilians

*Columbia University President
Nicholas M. Butler Nicholas Murray Butler () was an American philosopher, diplomat, and educator. Butler was president of Columbia University, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and the deceased J ...
*Industrialist
Pierre S. du Pont Pierre Samuel du Pont (; January 15, 1870 – April 4, 1954) was an American entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist and member of the prominent du Pont family. He was president of DuPont from 1915 to 1919, and served on its board of director ...
*Yale President
Timothy Dwight V Timothy Dwight V (November 16, 1828 – May 26, 1916) was an American academic, educator, Congregational minister, and President of Yale University (1886–1898). During his years as the school's president, Yale's schools first organized as a uni ...
*Professor
John B. Hattendorf John Brewster Hattendorf, D.Phil., D.Litt., L.H.D., FRHistS, FSNR, (born December 22, 1941) is an American naval historian. He is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of more than fifty books, mainly on British and American maritime hi ...
*Architect George Champlin Mason Sr. *Historian
William H. Prescott William Hickling Prescott (May 4, 1796 – January 28, 1859) was an American historian and Hispanist, who is widely recognized by historiographers to have been the first American scientific historian. Despite having serious visual impairm ...
*Philanthropist
John D. Rockefeller Jr. John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in M ...
*Yale President
Charles Seymour Charles Seymour (January 1, 1885 – August 11, 1963) was an American academic, historian and the 15th President of Yale University from 1937 to 1951. As an academic administrator, he was instrumental in establishing Yale's residential colleg ...
*Banker and Socialite
William Watts Sherman William Watts Sherman (August 4, 1842 – January 22, 1912) was a New York City businessman and the treasurer of the Newport Casino. In 1875–1876 he had the William Watts Sherman House constructed in Newport, Rhode Island. Early life ...
*Yale President
Ezra Stiles Ezra Stiles ( – May 12, 1795) was an American educator, academic, Congregationalist minister, theologian, and author. He is noted as the seventh president of Yale College (1778–1795) and one of the founders of Brown University. According ...
*Sculptor William Greene Turner *Surgeon
John Collins Warren John Collins Warren (August 1, 1778 – May 4, 1856) was an American surgeon. In 1846 he gave permission to William T.G. Morton to provide ether anesthesia while Warren performed a minor surgical procedure. News of this first public demonstrat ...
*Lawyer Charles C. Glover III


Foreigners

*King of the Belgians Albert I *Marshal of France
Ferdinand Foch Ferdinand Foch ( , ; 2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929) was a French general and military theorist who served as the Supreme Allied Commander during the First World War. An aggressive, even reckless commander at the First Marne, Flanders and Art ...
*King
Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: * Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short car ...
*President of France
Emile Loubet Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil and the Detective ...
*Marshal of France
Robert Nivelle Robert Georges Nivelle (15 October 1856 – 22 March 1924) was a French artillery general officer who served in the Boxer Rebellion and the First World War. In May 1916, he succeeded Philippe Pétain as commander of the French Second Army in th ...
*Marshal of France Henri-Philippe Petain *Marshal of Sweden Axel von Fersen


See also

*
Military Order of Foreign Wars The Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States (MOFW) is one of the oldest veterans' and hereditary associations in the nation with a membership that includes officers and their hereditary descendants from all of the Armed Services. Memb ...
*
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or simply the Loyal Legion is a United States patriotic order, organized April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Army. The original membership was composed of members ...
*
Order of the Founders and Patriots of America The Order of the Founders and Patriots of America (OFPA) is a non-profit, hereditary organization based in the United States that is dedicated to promoting patriotism and preserving historical records of the first colonists and their descendants. ...
*
Sons of the American Revolution The National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR or NSSAR) is an American Congressional charter, congressionally chartered organization, founded in 1889 and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Louisville, Kentucky. A non-prof ...
*
Sons of the Revolution Sons of the Revolution is a hereditary society which was founded in 1876 and educates the public about the American Revolution. The General Society Sons of the Revolution headquarters is a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation located at Willia ...
*
Daughters of the Cincinnati The Daughters of the Cincinnati is a historical, hereditary lineage organization founded in 1894 by women whose ancestors were officers in George Washington’s army and navy during the American Revolutionary War. Headquartered in New York City, th ...


Notes


Bibliography

* 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 the State of New Jersey, 1898. * * * 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. * * 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. * * 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. * 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.


External links

*
American Revolution Institute

American Independence Museum

Mount Gulian Historic Site


at
The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...
{{Authority control 1783 establishments in New York (state) 501(c)(3) organizations American Revolution veterans and lineage organizations Libraries in Washington, D.C. Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C. Organizations established in 1783 Patriotic societies