President General's Welcome
The Society of the Cincinnati was founded in 1783 by men who, at great personal sacrifice, had secured American independence after a long, bloody war fought against overwhelming odds. They felt strongly that this achievement, and the ideals it articulated of liberty, equality, and civic responsibility, should be always remembered—ideals as important today as they were in 1783. The founders of the Society assigned to their descendants the task of keeping alive the patriotic sacrifices that made American liberty a reality and the ideals upon which it had been won.
As members of the Society, we take that task very seriously. Our educational work reaches all parts of the United States. We preserve and provide access to one of the world's great collections of books and manuscripts illuminating the history of the War for Independence and a remarkable collection of art and artifacts illustrating that war and the long history of our organization. Our public and online programs are viewed by hundreds of thousands of individuals every year. These rich public programs are the heart of the American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati.
The Society of the Cincinnati and our American Revolution Institute are dedicated to promoting scholarly and popular interest in the extraordinary generation that created our great republic. We encourage you to visit our headquarters in Washington, D.C., use our library, attend a lecture, tour our museum, or view one of our exhibitions. We invite you to join us in honoring the heroes who established our republic and who risked their lives and fortunes to defend the liberties we all enjoy.
Sincerely,
Joel Thomas Daves IV
President General, The Society of the Cincinnati