#52 Ancestors 2023 Week 12 Membership: The Society of the Cincinnati

The Society of the Cincinnati, the nation's oldest patriotic organization, was founded in 1783 by officers of the Continental Army who served together in the American Revolution. Having been through so much together, including numerous battles and a frigid winter at Valley Forge, the officers did not want to lose touch with their fellows.  

"Companions in virtuous suffering, in danger and in glory; attached to each other by common exertions made in a severe struggle for the attainment of a common object; to part forever they deemed a calamity too affecting to be supported."  Judge Marshall, Life of Washington

Thus, the Society was born, its mission to promote knowledge of America's fight for independence and to promote fellowship among its participants. George Washington served as the Society's first president.

Besides Washington, the original members included just about all the folks that you might associate with the history of the American Revolution: Alexander Hamilton, John Paul Jones, the Marquis de Lafayette, John and Samuel Adams and hundreds of others. 

The society took its name from the ancient Roman hero, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, an embodiment of civic virtue. Called from his farm to serve the state, Cincinnatus immediately relinquished power and returned to his farm after the crisis, actions which were frequently cited as models of leadership and service to the greater good. The Society's motto reflects that sentiment: "He relinquished everything to save the Republic." 

Gen. Otho Williams

Maryland was among the first states to organize a constituent group, founded in Annapolis in November 1783. General Otho Williams was the first president and there were 65 members in total.
 

Membership in the Society is limited to descendants of Continental Army officers, and while I do not have a direct ancestor who was a member, I do have several great uncles who were founding members of the Maryland Society: 

Colonel William Bruce

Col. Bruce

Col. William Bruce, about whom I have previously written, was the son of Charles Bruce and Jane Yates Bruce of Charles County MD. He joined the First Maryland Regiment in 1776 and was subsequently promoted to Captain and later Lt. Colonel. He and his brother John were part of the famous Maryland 400 brigade who saved Washington's army. William's sister, Elizabeth Bruce, the wife of Jonathan Yates, was my 5X great-grandmother.

Lt. Henry Clements

Lt. Henry Clements, the son of Francis Clements and Elizabeth Sanders of Charles County MD. (My uncle Paul Summers and now my cousin Paul Summers Jr. hold membership in the society through this ancestor.) Henry was born about 1740 in Charles County MD. He received property from his father's 1758 will.  In 1760, his brother Francis left Henry the property he had received from their father and stipulated that Henry was over 21 at the time. Henry received further property from his mother's will in 1771. For his service in the Revolution, Lt. Clements was awarded 200 acres of bounty land in 1790.  Unfortunately, further details about him are scarce.  Henry's sister, Henrietta Clements Dyer, was my 5X great-grandmother. She married Thomas Dyer, the brother of Edward Dyer, below. 

Captain Edward Dyer

Captain Edward Dyer, the son of Patrick Dyer and Comfort Barnes of Prince George's County MD (my 6X great-grandparents), was born in 1719. He married Martha Clements, the aunt of Henry, above, about 1756, and had six children with her: Thomas Dyer, Ann Dyer, Jacob Dyer, Edward Dyer, Elizabeth Dyer, and William Dyer.  He died at his farm near Frederick MD, exact date not known, but before 1790. Edward Dyer was commissioned a Lt. in the Maryland Line in 1778 and later promoted to Captain. He served through the close of the war, retiring from the military in 1783. His widow, Martha, and daughter Elizabeth were awarded bounty land in 1813 in recognition of his service. Edward's brother, Thomas Dyer, was my 5X great-grandfather. 

Captain William Lamar

Gen. Kosciusko

Captain William Lamar, the son of Robert Lamar and Sarah Hall of Prince George's County MD. He was born about 1755 and enlisted in the 7th Maryland Regiment in 1776, where he rose to the rank of Captain.  He was engaged in every important battle fought in the east (Harlem, White Plains, Germantown, etc.) He later fought in the south and made the acquaintance of Polish General Thadeus Kosciusko. Koscuisko, by the way, was also a member of the Society of the Cincinnati.  In the portrait at the left, he is wearing the eagle emblem of the Society. 

Captain Lamar was wounded several times in the war and retired afterward to Alleghany County MD, where he died in 1838. 

His tombstone carries the following inscription:

"In memory of Col. William Lamar, a soldier of the Revolution. At the Tap of the drum in his native State, Maryland, to the standard of his country he flew, nor left until she was acknowledged free and independent among the nations of the earth. At the battles of Harlem Heights, White Plains, Germantown, Monmouth, Staten Island, in the north; at Guilford Court House, Eutaw, Camden, the capture of Fort Mott, Granby, Wateree, and the siege of Ninety-Six in the south, he was present (and actively engaged, and by his coolness, bravery and skill, rendered most signal and important services to the army. At Guilford the desperate charge of the American troops which turned the scale of victory in their favor was ordered at his suggestion, which was communicated to General Greene through Major Anderson, and the plan of firing Fort Mott, which was success-fully adopted, and which occasioned the immediate surrender of that fort by the British, originated exclusively with him. In the disastrous battle of Camden, he was present in the fight and was by the side of De Kalb when that brave officer fell. In the siege of Ninety-Six, the Immortal Kosciusko was his fellow soldier, and served under him for a while. The noble conduct of the brave Pole was the fond theme of his admiration and praise through life. Entering the army at the commencement of the Revolution, he continued in it, engaged in active service until the close of the war. During the contest he made but one visit home. He married early, had sons and daughters, the Children: Sarah Lamar; William Lynch Lamar; Louise Lamar, married Frisby Tilghman; Ann Lamar, married George Tilghman; Richard Lamar and Mary Lamar, married Michael C. Sprigg. Most of whom he lived to see begirt with glowing infancy. Possessing a heart full of kindness and a temper almost proof against anger, he was respected in all the relations of life. He was born in Frederick County, but for thirty years previous to his death he resided in Alleghany, where he died January 9th, 1838, aged 83 years. Also sacred to the memory of Margaret Lamar, his wife. She was beloved and esteemed by all who knew her for the many virtues that adorned her character. She died universally lamented, March 17th, 1821, aged 54 years."

William Lamar married Margaret Worthington in 1784 and had four daughters and two sons with her.  William's brother, Richard Tyler Lamar, who married Anne Drane, was my 4X great-grandfather. 

These four great-uncles represent a proud tradition of service to country. They relinquished everything to save the Republic.