On my tours of historic #Charleston, I am often asked about plaques that adorn so many walls and houses around the scenic city. One of the most noteworthy is the symbol of the Society of the Cincinnati, a philanthropic organization begun after the Revolutionary War in 1783. The feeling among many of those who led America to independence was that they had done their duty for the country, not for their own personal gain, and that when their duty was done, that they become ordinary citizens again. The society name is based on Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, a general in the army of ancient Rome, who had retired from his military career to his farm, but was called out of retirement by the Roman government to lead the army against invading hordes. Cincinnatus defeated the enemy and then went back to his farm, and this selfless devotion is in the society motto, “Reliquit Servare Republicam” meaning “He left everything to save the Republic”. There are fourteen chapters of the society in each of the original thirteen states and in France because of the help that country gave in winning US independence, and the society is often referred to as “The Fourteen”. <img.src=”Charleston Curiosities” alt=”Society of the Cincinnati”
