5th Cavalry Regiment (United States)

5th Cavalry Regiment
5th Cavalry Regiment coat of arms
Active	1855 – present
Country	United States
Branch	United States Army
Type	Cavalry
Nickname(s)	"Black Knights"
Motto(s)	Loyalty Courage
Engagements	Indian Wars American Civil War Philippine Insurrection Mexican Expedition World War I World War II Korean War Vietnam War War in Southwest Asia Iraq War Operation New Dawn Operation Enduring Freedom
Commanders
Current commander	LTC John D. Moris
Notable commanders	Albert Sidney Johnston Robert E. Lee Wesley Merritt George H. Cameron Gordon B. Rogers Edgar Joseph Treacy, Jr Eric Shinseki Benjamin Freakley
Insignia
Distinctive unit insignia

The 5th Cavalry Regiment ("Black Knights") is a historical unit of the United States Army that began its service in the decade prior to the American Civil War and continues in modified organizational format in the U.S. Army.

The Coat of Arms consists of a shield, on which there is drawn across the center a partition with five battlements, suggestive of a Spanish castle, and representing the numerical designation of the Regiment. The portion of the shield below the line is colored yellow, symbolizing the Regiment's arm of service, the Cavalry.

The upper portion of the Coat of Arms consists of a bundle of five arrows tied together with a rattlesnake skin having five rattles; this is a Native American symbol of war. The arrows commemorate the five major Indian Campaigns in which the Regiment was engaged. The first arrow designates the campaign against the Comanches fought 1856-1860; the second represents the defeat of the Cheyennes under Tall Bull in 1869-1871; the third symbolizes the fight against the Apaches in 1872-1874; the fourth arrow was won fighting against the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull; and the fifth and final arrow represents the campaign against the Utes of Colorado in 1879.

The black cross on the yellow portion of the shield was won during the Civil War. This cross, known as the "Cross Moline," represents the famous charge by the Regiment at Gaines' Mill, Virginia on 27 June 1862. The word "Moline" comes from the French word "Moulin" for mill. The split ends of the cross represent the iron pieces of a millstone.

The upper portion of the shield consists of a white Maltese Cross on a black field. This is symbolic of the service of the Regiment in Puerto Rico from November 1898 to 1900. Puerto Rico was originally known as San Juan, named for the Knights of St. John, who wore a black habit with a white Maltese Cross. It is from this derivation that the Soldiers of the 5th Cavalry became known as the Black Knights.

In 1923, the War Department draped the shield with a yellow ribbon bearing the motto "Loyalty and Courage" thereby honoring the Coat of Arms with its official approval.

The regiment's history began in 1855, organizing on 28 May 1855 as the 2nd United States Cavalry Regiment at Louisville, Kentucky. A few months later, on 27 September 1855, the regiment of 750 officers and men marched west to fight in its first Indian Campaign, against the Comanche, reaching Fort Belknap, Texas, in late December. Under the command of Col. Albert Sidney Johnston, its officers included 12 future generals: field officers Robert E. Lee (who was appointed to succeed to command in 1861), William J. Hardee, and George H. Thomas, and line officers Earl Van Dorn, Edmund Kirby Smith, George Stoneman, Kenner Garrard, William B. Royall,Nathan G. Evans, Fitzhugh Lee, and John Bell Hood.