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George Washington Signed Document For a Rev. War Surgeon to The Society of The Cincinnati. Very Nice Condition!
George Washington Signed Document For a Rev. War Surgeon to The Society of The Cincinnati. Very Nice Condition!
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Washington George



George Washington Signed Document For a Rev War Surgeon to The Society of The Cincinnati. Very Nice Condition!

 

Partially printed document signed on vellum, 20" x 14". Scarce highly engraved document, with a fantastic large signature of George Washington as President of The Society of the Cincinnati "G. Washington", and co-signed by Henry Knox, "H Knox". Dated "December 10, 1785". Near fine with slight toning as expected. Matted with a stunning color print of Washington to a completed size of 34" X 18.75"

 

An important President Washington Signed Document, endorsing and honoring Thomas Tillotson, First Lieutenant and Medical Surgeon for the Revolution, to be a member of The Society of Cincinnati. This patriotic organization, founded in 1783, to preserve the ideals and fellowship of officers of the Continental Army who served in the Revolutionary War, was founded by Henry Knox (who accompanied Washington in battle and the crossing of the Delaware, and is a cosigner of this document). The first meeting of the Society was held in May 1783 before the British evacuation from New York City. The meeting was chaired by Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Hamilton, and the participants agreed to stay in contact with each other after the war. Membership was generally limited to officers who had served at least three years in the Continental Army or Navy; it included officers of the French Army and Navy above certain ranks. Officers in the Continental Line who died during the War were also entitled to be recorded as members, and membership would devolve to their eldest male heir.

 

Washington had been in direct communication with First Lieutenant and Medical Surgeon Thomas Tillotson during the Revolutionary War requesting his services in the formation of a military & flying hospital for the use and benefit of the troops under the command of Major General Sullivan.

 

A transcript of Washington's letter to Tillotson is below for review below, demonstrating his direct involvement in the Revolutionary War:

 

From George Washington to Thomas Tillotson, 26 July 1778

Sir,

You are to proceed, immediately, with two assistants to Doctor Isaac Foster D. Director in the Eastern department, and take his instructions for the procuring of hospital furniture, medicines instruments, and such things as may be thought necessary in the formation of a military & flying hospital for the use and benefit of the troops under the command of Major General Sullivan, at Providence, Rhode Island, in case or provided a proper hospital arrangement has not already taken place in that quarter either by the orders of Major General Sullivan or Doctor Foster. But should there be as yet no establishment of this kind you will repair to and continue with Major General Sulliva[n] in the faithful exercise of the several functions of your profession till dismissed by General Sullivan, the commander in that quarter, or the commander in chief of the army of the United States. Given at Head Quarters this 26th day of July 1778.

 

The important Washington signed document offered here endorses and elects Thomas Tillotson to become a Member of this prestigious society, and is transcribed in full below:

 

" Be it known that Thomas Tillotson, Esquire, Physician and Surgeon to the late Northern Army , is a Member of the Society of the Cincinnati, instituted by the Officers of the American Army at the period of Dissolution as well to commemorate the great event which gave Independence to North America as for the laudable Purpose of inculcating the Duty of laying down in Peace, Arms assumed for public Defence and of united in Acts of Brotherly Affection and Bonds of perpetual friendships the Members constituting the same.

 

In Testimony whereof the President of the said Society, have hereunto set my Hand at Mount Vernon in the State of Virginia, this Tenth Day of December in the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty Five and in the Tenth Year of the Independence of the United States.

By order

 

H Knox Secretary                 G Washington President"

 

 

 

 

Now in its third century, the Society promotes the public interest in the revolution through its library and museum collections, publications, and other activities. It is the oldest hereditary society in the United States, however at the time, Washington did express concerns over the creation of this Society, and remained skeptical, although he very much wanted to support his former army officers. He would not let the friendship of his old comrades-in-arms lead him into a public dispute, for he was not one to risk his reputation needlessly. So, characteristically, he took his time in making up his mind about whether to lend his name permanently to the organization. The first national assembly of the Cincinnati was planned for May 1784, and as the time drew near Washington sought opinions from trusted friends and advisors. The Cincinnati had supporters as well as detractors, and Washington heard from both. Some supporters reasoned that if the members had sinister motives they would not have allowed the troops under their command to peacefully surrender their weapons when the army disbanded. Others were convinced the Society would be instrumental in settling Congress’s debts to the army. Opponents attacked the badge of the Cincinnati as an ostentatious mark of distinction, but others questioned how it differed from the emblems worn by Freemasons.

 

In April 1784, still undecided about what course to pursue, Washington asked Jefferson, among others, to give him his opinion on the Institution of the Society. After studying the document Jefferson replied that he thought it originated from the officers’ natural desire to foster the friendships that had developed during the war. That was the only positive thing he had to say about the Institution or the Society. He went on to attack the hereditary clause on the ground that it was not aligned with the natural rights of the people but with the branches of “privilege & prerogative.” The acceptance of foreign members was unfortunate, Jefferson said, for the hereditary principle was part of the patronage system of modern governments, and hence the foreign members would side with the Society if it ever attempted to “procure an ingraftment into the government” of the U.S., which might happen if the time came when men joined the Society simply because it was popular. More serious, said Jefferson, the Institution of the Society tended to blur the proper relationship between the civil and military, giving rise to the risk that when assembled it might exercise its power in a way antithetical to the welfare of the nation. The latter assertion alone would have been enough to persuade Washington without Jefferson’s additional observation that “the moderation & virtue of a single character has probably prevented this revolution from being closed as most others have been by a subversion of that liberty it was intended to establish: that he is not immortal, & his successor or some one of his successors at the head of this institution may adopt a more mistaken road to glory.” No doubt these last statements clinched the argument, for Washington knew first hand that some Americans still harbored a desire for a king. In the final analysis, Jefferson thought that a modification rendering the Institution unobjectionable “would amount almost to annihilation; for such would it be to part with it’s inheritability, it’s organisation & it’s assemblies.”

The extent to which Washington accepted Jefferson’s criticism of the Institution can be seen in his Observations on the Institution of the Society, drafted around 4 May 1784:

“Strike out every word, sentence, and clause which has a political tendency.

Discontinue the hereditary part in all its connexions, absolutely, without any substitution which can be construed into concealment, or a change of ground only; for this would, in my opinion, encrease, rather than allay suspicions.

Admit no more honorary Members into the Society.

Reject subscriptions, or donations from every person who is not a Citizen of the United States.

Place the funds upon such a footing as to remove the jealousies which are entertained on that score.

. . . Abolish the General meetings altogether, as unnecessary . . . District meetings might also be discontinued as of very little use . . .

No alterations short of what is here enumerated will, in my opinion, reconcile the Society to the Community—whether these will do it, is questionable. Without being possessed of the reasons which induce many Gentlemen to retain the order or badges of the Society, it will be conceived by the public that this order . . . is a feather we cannot consent to pluck from ourselves, tho’ we have taken it from our descendants—if we assign the reasons, we might I presume as well discontinue the order.”

This crystalizes Washington’s misgivings about the Institution of the Society of Cincinnati on the eve of the Society’s first national assembly, at which Washington himself was to preside. It is impossible to know whether Jefferson’s opinion on the Institution convinced Washington to oppose the Society as so conceived, or whether he had already come to that conclusion on his own and conveniently relied on Jefferson’s arguments when drawing up his Observations. Either way, Washington was persuaded that enough of the public was so firmly against the Society as a hereditary and military organization that its Institution must be so altered as to make the existence of the Society fundamentally unnecessary. When the Society’s delegates finally assembled at City Tavern in Philadelphia, Washington threatened to withdraw from the organization altogether if the Institution was not revised according to his demands. Accordingly, most of Washington's concerns were addressed and incorporated.

Washington later wrote, in August 1785, of the members’ willingness to compromise on the Institution at their first national assembly: “I am perfectly convinced that if the first institution of this Society had not been parted with, ‘ere this we should have had the country in an uproar, and a line of separation drawn between this society and their fellow citizens. The alterations which took place at the last general Meeting have quieted the clamours which in many States were rising to a great height.” Around that time Washington also noted that the officers could not be refused the right of “associating for the purpose of establishing a fund for the support of the poor and distressed of their fraternity . . . that charity is all that remains of the original Institution, none who will be at the trouble of reading it can deny.”

In the final analysis, Washington’s initial skepticism about the Society and his sudden reversal from advocating its abolition to supporting it to the extent of lending his name to it is completely in keeping with his character. It was after all a necessary and pragmatic political move aimed at pacifying the officers, and not alienating the French, although he risked offending part of the American public. But I like to think that Washington was thinking more than of just the political expediency of the moment. Perhaps he also had in mind his vision for the future of the United States, enabling him to see the positive aspects of a national organization, and he seized the opportunity to help define it. Peace had come, but completing the Revolution would require, he later wrote James Madison, that “prejudices, unreasonable jealousies, and local interest yield to reason and liberality. 



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