Updated information, Saturday, March 5, 2022
There is still time to register to attend this historically educational and socially congenial weekend. President Motley and I hope you will consider doing so! Please utilize online registration here, or mail in the PDF invitation above.
COVID update: The Mask and Vaccination mandates have been eliminated in the City of Boston, effective March 5, and February 18, respectively.
Headquarters hotel still available:
A block of rooms is available at the Fairmont Copley Plaza. Reservations must be made by March 14, 2022, using this link: https://book.passkey.com/go/SocietyOfCincinnati or, after that date, calling (617)-866-4417.
Due to the need to notify certain vendors of counts and commitments, starting on March 16th registrations may be curtailed on an event-by-event basis. We urge all of our fellow Cincinnati to act with dispatch to join your brethren for this most enjoyable long weekend in Boston.
Cordially yours,
P.S.: As the information concerning General Washington’s favorite hymn may be of general interest, we reproduce it here.
Additional information regarding the Solemn Mass at the Church of the Advent, Sunday, 27 March 2022 at 11:00 am, 30 Brimmer Street, Boston
All are invited to join for Sunday services just a few doors down at The Church of the Advent, 30 Brimmer Street, for a prelude at 10:50 am, and the service beginning at 11:00 am.
The Advent is Anglican/Episcopal, and is known for its cathedral-like services, its adherence to tradition, and its exceptional and world-renowned choir. In honor of the visit of the New Hampshire Society of the Cincinnati, the Advent will conclude Solemn High Mass with General Washington’s favorite hymn, “The Character of a Happy Life,” as the recessional. We encourage all members to join; for those who breakfast with President and Mrs. Jeffries, Thatcher Gearhart, a fellow Cincinnati, and a member of the Advent, will lead the contingent down the street.
“The Character of a Happy Life” by Sir Henry Wotton
The head organist and choirmaster of the Advent, Mark Dwyer, writes as follows:
“It has been noted that the first president’s most-loved hymn was ‘The Character of a Happy Life,’ written by Englishman Henry Wotton in 1614. This hymn truly exemplifies Washington’s philosophy and desire to serve as the initial president of the new nation.
However, even in the new president’s few public expressions, one can detect that personal wishes were far down his list of priorities as compared to his obligation as president. That the office was greater than the man filling it was Washington’s personal philosophy of his presidency. Evidently George Washington sang the hymn “How Happy Is He Born and Taught” in regular Episcopal services at Christ Church in Alexandria and Pohick Church near Mount Vernon.
The words of each stanza of Wotton’s hymn reflect something of meaning of Washington’s life and service to his country.
– Stanza one emphasizes the blessedness of man who serves others through honesty and simple truth.
– Stanza two points out the controlling of passions in preparing one’s soul for death while deemphasizing the world’s concern about fame.
– Stanza three speaks of following one’s conscience and not worrying about rumors. It also instructs one not to seek flattery because it never develops great men.
– Stanza four talks about God’s grace, which is given to man in abundance. It also mentions God as a close brother and friend.
– Stanza five speaks of the freedom to hope, which helps man neither to fall nor fail. In addition, it says that man is master of his soul by the decisions he makes, ending with eternal life.”
Why not come and enjoy this hymn as performed by the Church of the Advent Choir!
Friday, March 25, 2022 – Sunday, March 27, 2022
Society of the Cincinnati Weekend
Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Hampshire (SOCNH)
Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati (MASOC)
American Revolution Institute (ARI)
Dear Member of our One Society of Friends,
President and Mrs. Stephen Benjamin Jeffries and the Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Hampshire as well as President and Mrs. Herbert Jaques Motley, Jr. and the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati request your attendance and participation for Cincinnati Weekend, Friday, March 25 through Sunday, March 27, 2022.
Online Registration as well as updated information, especially concerning COVID protocols and/or schedule refinements and modifications, will be posted on this event page. Whether you choose Online or Paper Registration, promptness would be most appreciated. If you wish to donate or pay by credit card, please utilize the link above.
As of this writing Proof of COVID Vaccination Status must be shown to enter the venues in the City of Boston shown on the itinerary below. UPDATED COVID INFORMATION: Boston dropped the vaccination requirement for indoor venues, effective, February 18, 2022. Please check this page before coming to Boston as it will be updated as necessary.
A block of rooms is available at the Fairmont Copley Plaza. Reservations must be made by February 23, 2022, using this link: https://book.passkey.com/go/SocietyOfCincinnati or calling (617)-866-4417. Special SOC nightly rate of $259.00 honored for reservations: March 22 – 29, 2022. Reservations made after February 23, 2022 are subject to availability and the rate is not guaranteed.
Weekend Schedule
Friday, March 25, 2022
Daytime: Bus tour of Lexington and Concord: “April 19, 1775”
Organized by The American Revolution Institute
(Detailed schedule on following page) -COMFORTABLE WALKING SHOES recommended
5:30 pm: Cocktails and Dinner at Concord’s Colonial Inn
(N.B.: If you desire to join this dinner BUT NOT the bus tour, you must arrange your own transportation. We may be able to offer return passage to the Fairmont Copley Plaza, subject to availability.)
Saturday, March 26, 2022
1:30 pm SOCNH Member’s Winter Meeting
MASOC Member’s Social Hour -All Members of the Cincinnati invited.
The Union Club, 8 Park Street, Beacon Hill, Boston
1:30 pm: Special Art and Architecture Tour for Spouses
The Boston Athenaeum, 10 ½ Beacon Street, Beacon Hill, Boston
3:00 pm: Lecture:
Travels with George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy, Nathaniel Philbrick
The Union Club of Boston, 8 Park Street, Beacon Hill, Boston
6:30 pm: Cocktails and Dinner
The Somerset Club, 42 Beacon Street, Beacon Hill, Boston
Black Tie with Decorations (No Name Tags)
Sunday, March 27, 2022
9:15 am Brunch
The home of SOCNH President and Mrs. Jeffries
12 Brimmer Street, Beacon Hill, Boston
11:00 am For those that wish Sunday Service
Church of the Advent, featuring General Washington’s favorite hymn:
“The Character of a Happy Life”
30 Brimmer Street, Beacon Hill, Boston
2:00 pm Brunch concludes
Each of the above activities can be individually chosen.
Herb and I very much hope you will attend and look forward to welcoming you to Boston!
Respectfully submitted,
Stephen B. Jeffries, President SOCNH
Massachusetts and New Hampshire Societies of the Cincinnati “April 19, 1775” Tour
March 25, 2022
American Revolution Institute
Itinerary
8:30am: Bus arrives at Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston and boarding begins.
8:50am: Bus Departs Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel for Riverside Station.
9:10am: Bus arrives at Riverside Station (pick up and drop off at the parking lot).
9:30am: Bus departs Riverside Station for Lexington Green.
9:50am: Arrive and disembark at Lexington Green to meet Paul O’Shaughnessy for interpretive tour of the Green.
10:45am: Board bus and depart Lexington Green for North Bridge Visitor Center.
11:00am: Arrive and disembark at North Bridge Visitor Center. Group will walk to North Bridge with Minute Man National Historical Park staff for interpretive tour. Bus will drop off group and depart for Robbins House parking lot on Monument Street and rendezvous with group after North Bridge interpretive tour has concluded.
12:00pm: Board bus and depart Robbins House for Minute Man National Historic Park Visitor Center for boxed lunch.
12:15pm: Arrive and disembark at Minute Man National Historic Park Visitor Center for indoor discussion of Parker’s Revenge site by Meg Watters while eating boxed lunches. Beverages will be provided.
1:15pm: Walk from visitor center to Parker’s Revenge site for brief interpretive/archeological tour with Meg Watters and Minute Man National Historical Park staff.
2:15pm: Board bus and depart for Hartwell Tavern/Elm Brook Hill sites.
2:25pm: Arrive and disembark at Hartwell Tavern lot. Walk to Hartwell Tavern & Elm Brook Hill sites for interpretive tour with Minute Man National Historical Park staff.
3:50pm: Board bus and drive to Concord Museum.
4:00pm: Arrive and disembark at Concord Museum for museum walkthrough.
5:20pm: Board bus and drive to Concord’s Colonial Inn for dinner.
5:30pm: Arrive at Concord’s Colonial Inn for cocktail hour and dinner.
8:00pm: Board bus and depart for Riverside Station parking lot.
8:30pm: Arrive back at Riverside Station.
8:40pm: Bus departs Riverside Station for Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel.
9:00pm: Bus arrives at Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel.
Does George Washington still matter? In TRAVELS WITH GEORGE: In Search of Washington
and His Legacy, award-winning and bestselling author Nathaniel Philbrick contends he does.
In the fall of 1789, Washington, only six months into his presidency, set out on the first of four
road trips as he attempted to unite what were in essence thirteen independent states into a
single nation. In the fall of 2018, Philbrick, his wife Melissa, and their dog Dora set out on their
own series of road trips as they retraced Washington’s route across the country. By following
our first president as he attempted to bring the country together, traveling as far north as
Kittery Point, Maine, and as far south as Savannah, Georgia, Philbrick hoped to gain some
historical perspective on our own politically divided times
TRAVELS WITH GEORGE marks a new first-person voice for Philbrick, weaving history and
personal reflection into a single narrative. The book moves smoothly between the eighteenth
and twenty-first centuries as we see the country through both Washington’s and Philbrick’s
eyes. Written at a moment when America’s founding figures are under increasing scrutiny,
TRAVELS WITH GEORGE grapples bluntly and honestly with Washington’s legacy as a man of
the people, a reluctant president, and a plantation owner who held people in slavery. At
historic houses and landmarks, Philbrick reports on the reinterpretations at work as he meets
reenactors, tour guides, and other keepers of history’s flame. He paints a picture of
eighteenth-century America as divided and fraught as it is today, and he comes to understand
how Washington compelled, enticed, stood up to, and listened to the many different people
he met along the way—and how his all-consuming belief in the Union helped to forge a nation.
The above was written mostly by Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati President, Captain
Herbert J. Motley, Jr. I thank him both for his draftsmanship and for cohosting this weekend
with the Society of the Cincinnati in the State of New Hampshire.
