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Membership in the Society of the Cincinnati is widely
considered to be one of the most prestigious and sought-after
accomplishments in the hereditary society community.
The Original Institution made allowance for hereditary
membership in the line of
the eldest male in each generation, following the rule
of primogeniture. The Institution was initially
altered at a gathering of the General Society to exempt
hereditary membership. These changes were not
ratified by a number of State Societies, and the alterations
to the Institution were never fully approved.
The guidelines of the Original Institution have been
in effect since the initiation of the Society of the
Cincinnati in 1783. Each State Society approves
candidates who qualify for membership from an officer
who served in the respective state line of the Continental
Army. |
An
officer of the Continental Army or Navy could qualify as an
Original Member if he (a) served to the end of the war as
an officer with a Line (not Militia or State) regiment, (b)
resigned with honor after a minimum of three years service,
or (c) was rendered supernumerary or was honorably discharged
after three years of service. Officers who served with the
French forces under Rochambeau or DeGrasse were also eligible.
In 1854, the General Society made membership allowance for
those officers who could have become Original Members, but,
for whatever reason, did not. This is generally referred
to as the Rule of 1854. The descendants of those non-Original
Member officers may also be eligible for membership.
Hereditary membership is generally passed to the eldest son
according to the rule of primogeniture. When such an
individual is lacking, a collateral male descendant may be
eligible for membership, if properly qualified and approved
by the Society of the Cincinnati. Only one male descendant
may represent an eligible officer at any time.
Presently, all thirteen original State Societies are
functional, as well as the French Society, which was
reconstituted and accepted as the fourteenth Constituent
Society in 1925. The Societies are respectively:
Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Hampshire
Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati
Society of the Cincinnati in the State of Rhode Island and
Providence Plantations
Society of the Cincinnati in the State of Connecticut
New York State Society of the Cincinnati
Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Jersey
The State Society of the Cincinnati of Pennsylvania
Delaware State Society of the Cincinnati
Society of the Cincinnati of Maryland
Society of the Cincinnati in the State of Virginia
North Carolina Society of the Cincinnati
Society of the Cincinnati of the State of South Carolina
Society of the Cincinnati in the State of Georgia
Société des Cincinnati de France
For information regarding the General Society or any State
Societies, please contact Anderson House at:
The Society of the Cincinnati
Anderson House
2118 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008-2810
Phone: 202-785-2040
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