Fort Dummer after a sketch by Charles J. Brasor
The Society of Colonial Wars was founded in New York in 1892 for the purpose of furthering the interest in, and study of, America’s Colonial history for the period between the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia on May 13, 1607 and the battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.
The Society continues its mission by collecting and preserving manuscripts, rolls, relics and records; erecting memorials; hosting commemorations; and supporting academic research for the purpose of inspiring in the community respect and reverence for those whose public service made our freedom and unity possible.
To accommodate a Society of national scope the General Society was established in 1893 to charter State Societies.
The members of the Society are male descendants of those in military, naval and civil positions of high trust and responsibility whose acts and counsel assisted in the establishment, defense and growth of the American Colonies. Current members have been invited to join only after fulfilling their State Society's individual application procedures and membership requirements.
It is in one or more of the State Societies that an individual holds membership, and the collective federation of State Societies constitutes the General Society.
Objectives of the Society
The Society of Colonial Wars is instituted to perpetuate the memory of events in American Colonial History, and of the men who, in military and naval service, and in civil positions of trust and responsibility, by their acts or counsels assisted in the establishment, defense, and preservation of the American Colonies, and who were, in truth, the founders of the Nation.
To this end it seeks to collect and preserve manuscripts, rolls, relics, and records; to hold suitable commemorations and to erect memorials of events in colonial history; and to inspire in its members the fraternal and patriotic spirit of their forefathers, and to inspire in the community, respect and reverence for those whose public services made our freedom and unity possible.