Cincinnati, Society of the Cincinnati, Society of the [Lat. pl.
of Cincinnatus], organization formed (1783) by officers of the
Continental Army just before their disbanding after the American
Revolution. The organization, with a constitution drafted by
Gen. Henry Knox, was founded for fraternal, patriotic, and
allegedly nonpolitical purposes. George Washington was made
president of the national society, and auxiliary state societies
were organized. Membership was limited to officers of the
Continental Army, certain officers of the French army that
assisted the Continentals, and the eldest male descendants of
both. The society provoked much opposition among the zealous
Republicans of the time, who attacked it as the beginning of an
aristocratic military nobility. The Tammany societies of New
York, Philadelphia, and other cities were founded partly in
opposition to it. Beginning in 1893 a successful revival of many
of the defunct state organizations was made, and the society is
still active as a patriotic servi