Excerpt from The Institution of the Society of the Cincinnati: Together With the Roll of the Original, Hereditary, and Honorary Members of the Order, in the State of New Jersey, From 1783 to 1866Eighty-'three years ago, at the cantonment of the American army on the banks of the Hudson river, the officers who for eight years had led the forces of the United Colonies, met for the purpose of founding a Society, which would perpetuate the attachments formed during a long period of hardship and privation.We should not be surprised that their plan assumed an hereditary shape, and that they determined that the Society there formed should endure as long as they should endure, or any of the1r male posterity.Many dear friendships and memories had grown into life since 1776, and naturally they desired to do something to retain them; and doubtless they thought that coming generations in the then young Republic, would do honor to their memory as the founders of a Government that was open to all.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.