By Robert Knuckle

Black Jack was an attractive colt foaled on a Kansas breeding farm. From birth he seemed destined for greatness because he shared the same birth date as legendary Confederate general Robert E. Lee. He was named after General of the Armies John J. “Black Jack” Pershing. Purchased by the U.S. Army, Black Jack was broken and trained at their remount station at Fort Reno, Oklahoma. Although fiery and difficult to manage, he was so sleek and beautiful the army sent him to the caisson platoon at Fort Myer, Virginia. Because of Black Jack`s spirited temperament, the army was reluctant to use him in the military funerals at nearby Arlington National Cemetery. But once they tried him, Black Jack`s grace and vitality soon made him a favorite as the riderless horse that follows the caisson to the grave. Over a long and productive life, Black Jack served with distinction in more than 1,000 burials at the cemetery and marched in the funerals of presidents John F. Kennedy, Herbert Hoover and Lyndon B. Johnson, as well as that of General Douglas MacArthur. This book tells Black Jack`s success story. It is an endearing tale of an unruly but handsome cavalry mount that walked his way to fame and became the most illustrious horse in the history of the U.S. Army.