Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Society of the Cincinnati:

With great satisfaction I receive this honorable mark of approbation of my conduct in the chief Magistracy of this State, from so respectable a body of fellow Citizens as the Gentlemen Officers composing your Society.

An institution formed for the noble purpose of perpetuating merit, and transmitting to the latest age the epoch of the glorious revolution of these States from Tyranny and Oppression to Sovereignty and Independence, cannot but be very acceptable to me.

Impressed with the highest sense of gratitude for the Honor intended for me on this occasion, with singular pleasure I accept of the same for which I beg leave, Gentlemen of the Cincinnati, to return you my humble and hearty acknowledgments; at the same time Mr. President you will please to accept my respectful thanks for the polite and handsome manner in which you have conveyed to me the sense of the Society.