The bulk of this subseries consists of loose correspondence, including William Eustis' original statement on the formation of the general Society of the Cincinnati, presented by Judge Eustis of New Orleans through James W. Sever (Boston) (1782); circulars to and from the Connecticut, District of Columbia, Georgia, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia state chapters; and letters regarding membership and requests for relief.

Circulars, the main form of communication between state chapters and the general society, include extracts of minutes, thoughts on possible rulings, and general announcements. Of particular interest are handwritten circulars by Henry Knox (1788, 1790, 1791, 1793), a four-page handwritten circular by Alexander Hamilton (1796), and correspondence from General William Hull (1787, 1793) and General William Moultrie (1792).

Letters of application for membership in the society include personal and genealogical information and character references. Among the later correspondence are requests for verification of family lineage and membership. Letters requesting monetary aid describe applicants' family life, health, and hardships. Included is some information about cash awarded, but subseries B (financial records) contains most of the receipts documenting these grants.

This subseries also contains one bound letterbook (1866-1885) with copies of outgoing correspondence from society officers Samuel Crocker Cobb and Francis Winthrop Palfrey.

This subseries contains account statements, treasurer reports, receipts, grant lists, and other loose financial records (1765-1982), as well as six bound volumes (1783-1834), including the 1783 list of contributors and account books up to 1834. Receipts and grant lists document monetary aid given by the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati to various applicants. Also included are business receipts for printing, office supplies, and advertising.

The bulk of this subseries consists of volumes, including the original subscription book (1783) with the signatures of originating members; records of proceedings (1783-1902); and standing committee minutes (1787-1990). The subseries also contains a small amount of loose papers.

Loose papers in this subseries include correspondence regarding society medals (1881-1884) and diplomas (1813-1980); various lists of society members; and poems and readings. Volumes consist of a list of members (1804-1815); a copy of a list of commissioned staff officers in the Massachusetts line of the Continental Army in 1777, 1778, and 1779; a record of probable successors (1904); two membership pledge volumes (1802-1957); and four scrapbooks (1788-1929), primarily containing newspaper clippings about the society and meetings.

The diary of Jeduthan Baldwin (1732-1788), a military engineer from Brookfield, Mass., documents his experiences in the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, and the trial for Shays' Rebellion. The first section was kept from 1 Dec 1755-4 May 1756 at Fort William Henry, N.Y. and during the Expedition to Crown Point (1755). The second section (8 Dec. 1755-17 Jan. 1779) describes his service as an army engineer and commander of the Quartermaster Artificers Regiment and work on fortifications and redoubts in the Boston area during the Siege (1775-1776), on Long Island, and in the Lake George/Ticonderoga areas, including the raid on Fort Ticonderoga in 1777. The third and final section contains notes on the testimonies at the treason trials (26 Apr.-2 May 1787) of the participants in Shays' Rebellion, in which Baldwin was involved as a member of the state forces.

This subseries contains historical notes by Joseph Parker Warren (1873-1909) used for lectures and publications. Included is the manuscript of Warren's "The Confederation and the Shays Rebellion," published in the American Historical Review in 1905 and reprinted later in pamphlet form.

The bulk of this subseries consists of Drake's preparatory work for his Memorials of the Society of the Cincinnati of Massachusetts, published in 1873. Included are notes, biographical sketches, correspondence, book receipts, and other papers related to the book. Biographical information collected from families is arranged in alphabetical order.

This subseries contains letters from Henry Lyman Patten to family members during his Civil War service in the 20th Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. Included are letters about life at Camp Benton, Mo.; his service near the Potomac, near Yorktown, and at Rockville, Md.; his leg injury and recovery at an Annapolis hospital (5 July 1862); and the Battle of Antietam as seen from his position at Bolivar Heights, Va. Patten was promoted to captain in 1863 and died from wounds received in battle near Deep Bottom, Va. in Sep. 1864. The subseries includes sympathy letters on his death, as well as three U.S. War Department memos from 1867.

This subseries includes maps and information related to the Civil War, collected for a planned (but never completed) publication entitled "Bird's-Eye View."

This subseries consists of three letters from members of the Danforth family on family and war news (1862-1864); a copy of a statement showing the distribution of the U.S. Army on 31 Dec. 1860; and a five-page description of the position of the Army of Northern Virginia at the start of the Wilderness Campaign in 1864.

This subseries consists primarily of printed memos, invitations, announcements, lists of members, and occasional minutes and by-laws. The subseries is arranged with papers of the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati first, followed by the general Society of the Cincinnati, then individual state branches in alphabetical order.

This subseries consists primarily of books and pamphlets. The subseries is arranged with volumes related to the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati first, followed by the general Society of the Cincinnati, then individual state branches in alphabetical order, and finally miscellaneous volumes.

This subseries contains extra copies of engravings used in Francis S. Drake's Memorials of the Society of the Cincinnati of Massachusetts (Boston: Printed for the Society, 1873).