The Society of the Cincinnati library collects, preserves, and makes available for research printed and manuscript materials relating to the military and naval history of the eighteenth century, with a particular concentration on the people and events of the American Revolution. The Robert Charles Lawrence Fergusson Collection specializes in works relating to the art of war in the period, providing context for the achievement of the volunteer American forces and their French allies in securing the independence of the United States.
Complementing the library's extensive rare book collection are historical manuscripts, maps, graphic arts, and the archives of the Society of the Cincinnati. In addition, a modern reference collection supports research on the American revolutionary period and the history of the Society of the Cincinnati and its members; and a collection of nineteenth- and twentieth-century children's literature and fiction reveal popular perceptions of the American Revolution through time. The library also houses books, manuscripts, photographs, and other documentary materials relating to Larz and Isabel Anderson.
Open to researchers by appointment, the library is located on the lower floor of Anderson House, the Society's headquarters in Washington, DC.
