By tradition, the New York State Society of the Cincinnati holds three regularly scheduled meetings each year. The bylaws of the Society require that the membership gather in February to celebrate the birthday of George Washington. In addition, the bylaws specify that the Annual Meeting be held in late Spring, close to May 13, the founding day of the Society of the Cincinnati. Members also gather to remember "Evacuation Day," the anniversary of the evacuation of New York City by the British army in late November of 1783.

George Washington's Birthday

Each year, as close as possible to February 22, the Society gathers at some historic or special venue. Historically held in New York City we are also looking for new locations like Louisville, Kentucky in 2022. The purpose of the event is to celebrate His Excellency George Washington's birthday. It is a time to do special honor to our first president and frequently includes a luncheon and a visit to some building or museum tied to the American Revolution. For example, members have met for a luncheon and business meeting at the University Club in midtown and then adjourned to historic Fraunces Tavern, the Museum of Modern Art or some special location for a special tour and reception. Fraunces Tavern is famed as the place in which George Washington bade farewell to his fellow officers for the last time before returning to Mount Vernon in 1783.

The Annual Meeting

TThe Annual Meeting of the New York State Society is held in late Spring, in part as a celebration of the founding of the Society. In keeping with that thought, members have gathered up the Hudson River for many years at the very location of that first organizational meeting: the old Verplanck mansion, Mount Gulian, in Fishkill, New York. Mount Gulian was the house used by Major General Baron von Steuben as his headquarters. The setting is particularly beautiful as it is located on the east bank of the Hudson and, being a historic site, captures at once the sense of eighteenth century elegance and also a feeling of the wildness of the frontier. The Annual Meeting includes an alfresco luncheon on the veranda, a business meeting in the Cincinnati Room and evening entertainment afterwards

The Fall Meeting

The New York State Society has held its fall meeting in Washington, D.C. at Anderson House, the headquarters of the General Society, for a number of years now. It's a perfect venue for Cincinnati gatherings, providing meeting rooms, sleeping accommodations and dining facilities, all set in one of the most elegant of Washington homes. In this stately mansion, the Society maintains one of the finest libraries of eighteenth-century warfare, making it a world-class research center for members and visiting scholars of the Revolutionary War.