Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati

Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati
Name	Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati
Caption	Seal of the Society of the Cincinnati
Formation	1783
Founder	Officers of the Continental Army from Pennsylvania
Type	Hereditary society
Headquarters	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Location	United States
Membership	Revolutionary War descendants
Leader title	President

Pennsylvania Society of the Cincinnati is a hereditary organization founded in 1783 by officers who served in the Continental Army from Pennsylvania during the American Revolutionary War. The Society promotes remembrance of Revolutionary era figures and preserves artifacts, manuscripts, and properties associated with officers such as George Washington, Benedict Arnold, Anthony Wayne, John Penn (governor), and Thomas Mifflin. It participates in commemorations linked to events like the Siege of Yorktown, the Crossing of the Delaware River, the Battle of Germantown, and the Treaty of Paris (1783).

History

The Society was established in the aftermath of the American Revolutionary War by veterans who had served under commanders such as George Washington, Nathanael Greene, Horatio Gates, and Philip Schuyler. Early meetings included officers who had participated in the Battle of Trenton, the Battle of Princeton, the Saratoga campaign, and the Monmouth Court House. The Pennsylvania organization mirrored the original Society of the Cincinnati founded in Newport, Rhode Island and maintained ties with contemporaneous state societies in Massachusetts, Virginia, New York, Maryland, and South Carolina. Founders and early members included veterans linked to figures like Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, John Adams, Samuel Adams, and James Wilson, and the Society engaged with institutions such as the American Philosophical Society and the Pennsylvania Hospital. During the 19th century the Society intersected with commemorations for the War of 1812, reunions with veterans of the Mexican–American War, and interactions with organizations like the Society of the Cincinnati (France), Sons of the Revolution, and the Daughters of the American Revolution. In the 20th century the Pennsylvania Society preserved collections amid events such as the United States Bicentennial (1976), the World War I memorial movement, and partnerships with museums including the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Library Company of Philadelphia.

Membership and Organization

Membership is hereditary and limited to male lineal descendants of officers who served in units raised in Pennsylvania for the Continental Army and Continental Navy, linking families associated with leaders like Robert Morris (financier), Benjamin Rush, Casimir Pulaski, John Barry, James Ross (Senator), and William Bradford (Attorney General). The Society’s governance reflects models used by the parent General Society of the Cincinnati and state societies in Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, and Georgia, with officers such as President, Secretary, and Treasurer, and committees comparable to those of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association and the Historic Charleston Foundation. Meetings and convocations historically took place in venues like Independence Hall, Carpenters' Hall, Chambersburg, and private houses tied to families such as the Cadwalader family, the Shippen family, and the Chew family. The Society maintains registers, roll calls, and proof of lineage similar to procedures used by the Hereditary Order of the First Families of Maryland and the Order of the Founders and Patriots of America.

Activities and Programs

The Society organizes commemorations, wreath-laying ceremonies, lectures, and educational outreach connected to events like the Pennsylvania Campaign (1777), the Battle of Brandywine, and the Philadelphia campaign (1777–1778). It sponsors scholarly work on figures such as Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Dickinson, Thomas Jefferson, and Elijah Boardman, and partners with academic bodies including University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, Yale University, and Columbia University for symposia. Public programs have featured exhibitions in collaboration with the Independence National Historical Park, the National Archives and records relating to treaties like the Treaty of Paris (1783). The Society provides stewardship resembling initiatives by the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America and supports publications, genealogical research, and prizes modeled on awards such as the Society of the Cincinnati's gold medal and university fellowships at institutions like the American Antiquarian Society.

Properties and Collections

Collections assembled by the Society include personal papers, muster rolls, medals, uniforms, and portraits associated with officers like John Baskin, Edward Hand, General John Armstrong Jr., Thomas M. Kean (not the governor—19th c.), and William Irvine (general). Artifacts have been conserved in repositories including the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia History Museum, Pennsylvania State Archives, and the Library of Congress. Properties historically linked to members and preserved with Society involvement include houses tied to Charles Willson Peale, estates like Hope Lodge (Pennsylvania), and sites of significance such as Valley Forge National Historical Park. The collection practices echo those of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, Historic New England, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Notable Members

Notable members have included Continental officers and statesmen such as Anthony Wayne, Thomas Mifflin, John Cadwalader (general), Stephen Moylan, James Wilson, Robert Morris (financier), Samuel W. Pennypacker, Hugh Mercer, John Dickinson, Benedict Arnold (before his defection), John Barry, Francis Hopkinson, Gouverneur Morris, Thomas Fitzsimons, William Shippen Jr., Meriwether Lewis (honorary associations), John Nixon (revolutionary), James Ross (Senator), Edward Shippen IV, Jacob Broom, William Few, Cadwalader Colden, Peter Muhlenberg, and Joseph Reed (politician). Later figures connected through descent or affiliation include James Wilson (Pennsylvania Supreme Court judge), members of the Chew family, the Cadwalader family, and civic leaders active in Philadelphia cultural institutions such as the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

Legacy and Influence

The Society has influenced preservation of Revolutionary-era memory, contributed to scholarly research, and helped shape commemorative landscapes tied to the American Revolution Bicentennial, the Anniversary of the Battle of Germantown, and centennials marking events like the Siege of Fort Mifflin. Its activities intersect with national narratives preserved by the National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institution, and academic scholarship on figures such as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison. The Society’s model informed other hereditary and commemorative orders including the Sons of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the American Revolution, and its collections continue to support exhibitions, monographs, and genealogical research used by historians at institutions like the American Antiquarian Society, Winterthur Museum, and Yale University Library.

Category:Hereditary societies of the United States Category:Organizations based in Philadelphia