The records of the Society of the Cincinnati, an organization with branches in the United States and France, consist mainly of microfilm of originals held by the society. The society was founded in 1783 to preserve the ideals and fellowship of Revolutionary War officers and to pressure the government to honor pledges made to officers who fought for American independence The collection spans the years 1714-1938, with the bulk of the microfilm consisting of selected items from the period 1783-1850. Included are correspondence, circular letters, journals, minutes, proceedings of the General Society and of the Standing Executive Committee of the organization, resolutions, membership lists, certifications of delegates, accounts and account book, drawings, and other records. Also included are records of state societies and papers of Pierre Charles L'Enfant.

Not all of the manuscripts held by the society from the 1783-1850 period were filmed, but a complete list of the material and of records dated subsequent to 1850 is on file in the office of the secretary general of the society. The proceedings of the Standing Executive Committee , 1872-1938, have been included in the microfilm as there is no other record of these proceedings. Paper reproductions of a few items that bear a date prior to the formation of the society were added at the end of the film.

Correspondents include Charles Henri, comte d' Estaing; Horatio Gates; A.W. Johnston; Henry Knox; Charles Armand Tuffin, marquis de la Rouërie; Pierre Charles L'Enfant; Jean-Baptiste-Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau; Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin, Baron von Steuben; George Turner; and George Washington.