Black Jack (horse)

A coal-black Morgan-American Quarter Horse cross, Black Jack served in the Caisson Platoon of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard). Named in honor of General of the Armies John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, he was the riderless horse in more than 1,000 Armed Forces Full Honors Funerals (AFFHF), the majority of which were in Arlington National Cemetery. With boots reversed in the stirrups, he was a symbol of a fallen leader.

Black Jack in John F. Kennedy's funeral procession

Black Jack was purchased by Jacqueline Kennedy, widow to John F Kennedy, upon his retirement and her request.

Early life

Black Jack was foaled January 19, 1947, and came to Fort Myer from the cavalry remount station at Fort Reno, Oklahoma, on November 22, 1952. Black Jack was the last of the Quartermaster–issue horses branded with the Army's U.S. brand (on the left shoulder) and his Army serial number 2V56 (on the left side of his neck).^[1]

Career

Black Jack served a long and respectable military career.

Among the highlights were that he participated in four state funerals:^[1]

• Presidents:
  • John F. Kennedy (1963)^[2]
  • Herbert Hoover (1964)^[2]
  • Lyndon B. Johnson (1973)^[2]
• Five-star general:
  • Douglas MacArthur (1964)^[2]

Army Major General Philip C. Wehle was the Commanding General of the Military District of Washington during those state funerals, except for LBJ. For Johnson, it was Army Major General James Bradshaw Adamson served as commanding general. It was just after that funeral Black Jack was retired.^[3]

Death and burial

Black Jack died after a 29-year military career on February 6, 1976. He was cremated, with his remains laid to rest with full military honors in a plot at Fort Myer, Virginia, on Summerall Field; his final resting place lies 200 feet (60 m) northeast of the flagpole in the southeast corner of the parade field.

He is one of four horses in United States history to be buried with Full Military Honors:^[4][5][6]

1. Black Jack
2. Chief, the US Army's last living operational cavalry mount at the time of his death,
3. Sergeant Reckless, a highly-decorated packhorse who served in the Korean War, and
4. Comanche, one of the only survivors of the Battle of Little Bighorn.

See also

• Old Bob, Abraham Lincoln's horse who participated in Lincoln's funeral
• List of historical horses

Notes

1. "The Old Guard - 1/3 Battalion HHC Caisson Platoon". Army.mil. Archived from the original on 2010-02-28. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
2. Elsen, William A. (January 25, 1973). "Ceremonial Group Had Busy 5 Weeks". The Washington Post. p. D3.
3. "Black Jack, Famous As Riderless Horse At Funerals, Dies". The New York Times. Associated Press. February 7, 1976. p. 48.
4. Belcher, Nancy Hoyt (July–August 2004). "Guarding History and Tradition". EnCompass. 78 (4).
5. "Cavalry Horse : History of Horses. HAIL TO THE CHIEF".
6. Belcher, Nancy Hoyt, "Arlington Cemetery, Fort Myer pay homage to the military", The Record, Bergen County, N.J.: April 6, 2003. p. T.03.

External links

• Black Jack's burial site is at coordinates 38.881141°N 77.081130°W / 38.881141; -77.081130