Washington, George, First President

Engraved document on parchment (13 3/4 x 20 in.; 349 x 508 mm), accomplished in a secretarial hand and signed ("G:^{o Washington") as president of the Society of the Cincinnati and countersigned by the Henry Knox ("HKnox") as secretary, engraved vignettes by Auguste L. Belle after Jean-Jacques André LeVeau depicting America in knight's armor trampling upon the British standard and the American eagle casting the British lion and Britannia out to sea with thunderbolts, depictions of both sides of the medal of the Order of the Cincinnati within roundels, [Mount Vernon], 10 December 1785, being the certificate of membership admitting Lewis Morris to the Society; Washington's signature very slightly faded, one or two minor spots, light foxing along left margin; withal, in the finest possible condition.}   

Engraved document on parchment (13 3/4 x 20 in.; 349 x 508 mm), accomplished in a secretarial hand and signed ("G:o Washington") as president of the Society of the Cincinnati and countersigned by the Henry Knox ("HKnox") as secretary, engraved vignettes by Auguste L. Belle after Jean-Jacques André LeVeau depicting America in knight's armor trampling upon the British standard and the American eagle casting the British lion and Britannia out to sea with thunderbolts, depictions of both sides of the medal of the Order of the Cincinnati within roundels, [Mount Vernon], 10 December 1785, being the certificate of membership admitting Lewis Morris to the Society; Washington's signature very slightly faded, one or two minor spots, light foxing along left margin; withal, in the finest possible condition.
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A beautifully preserved copy of the Order of the Cincinnatus, with a prestigious association. Washington inducts a signer of the Declaration and soldier Lewis Morris into the august fraternal organization of the Order of the Cincinnati. Lewis Morris first represented the New York delegation to the Continental Congress in 1775. On 7 June 1776, the provincial congress of New York approved an increase in the militia of Westchester County and appointed Morris brigadier-general in command. He was absent from Congress when the Declaration of Independence was adopted, but attended the fourth provincial congress of New York on 9 July 1776 which endorsed the action of the Continental Congress. He signed the engrossed parchment of the Declaration later that year and participated in the New York campaign during the autumn of 1776.

The Order of the Cincinnati was conceived of by Henry Knox who wished to establish a fraternal organization for all officers who had served in the War for Independence and "any of their eldest male posterity."  The Order was founded in early May 1783 at the headquarters of General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben at Verplanck House in Fishkill, New York. The three guiding principles of the organization were: First,  "An incessant attention to preserve inviolate those exalted rights and liberties of human nature, for which they have fought and bled ..." Second, "An unalterable determination to promote and cherish between the respective States, that union and national honor so essentially necessary to their happiness, and the future dignity of the American empire."  Third, "To render permanent the cordial affection subsisting among the officers. This spirit will dictate brotherly kindness in all things, and particularly, extend to the most substantial acts of beneficence, according to the ability of the Society, towards those officers and their families, who unfortunately may be under the necessity of receiving it."

In addition to the certificate of membership, Knox provided that "The Society shall have an Order, by which its members shall be known and distinguished, which shall be a medal of gold, of a proper size to receive the emblems, and suspended by a deep blue riband two inches wide, edged with white, descriptive of the union of France and America, viz: The principal figure, Cincinnatus: Three Senators presenting him with a sword and other military ensigns—on a field in the background, his wife standing at the door of their cottage ... On the reverse, Sun rising—a city with open gates, and vessels entering the port—Fame crowning Cincinnatus with a wreath." The Order was designed by Pierre L'Enfant and retained much of Knox's vision but on a scale appropriate for the size of the medal.  The beautifully engraved roundels on the certificate by Auguste L. Belle, on the other hand, faithfully follow Knox's allegorical program.

The concept of using Cincinnatus as an emblem of the Order was particularly resonant with Americans since the life of this mid-fifth century Roman nobleman and farmer closely paralleled that of many who had served, with George Washington in the vanguard. Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus was called upon to repel two hostile tribes that threatened Rome. He issued his orders, which were efficiently carried out, and vanquished the enemy. Although elected a dictator for six months and voted a triumph by the Senate, Cincinnatus stepped down just after fifteen days and returned to private life on his farm. Similarly, at the conclusion of hostilities, Washington returned to his plantation at Mount Vernon, where the Morris certificate was endorsed by him.