The 11th Cavalry was authorized by Congress as a unit of the Regular Army in 1901. The regiment was formed at Fort Meyer, Virginia and went into action almost immediately in the Philippines, where they served on combat operations against the insurgents from 1901-1904. After less than two years back in the States, two squadrons of the regiment were posted to Cuba for pacification duties. They returned to the U.S. in 1909. The 11th was based at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia during this time except for a brief stint on the Mexican border in 1911. The Mexican border problem finally boiled over in 1916 and the 11th Cavalry was assigned to Pershing's Punitive Expeditionary Force with whom they were involved in several distinguished actions including the rescue of the 10th Cavalry at Carrozal. The regiment remained in the States during World War I then transferred to the Monterey Presidio in 1919. In the inter-war years the 11th became well known for their skill at horsemanship related to the fact that year-round training was possible at Monterey.

The Army adopted distinctive insignia for its regiments in 1922. That for the 11th Cavalry, shown above, incorporated the motto allons ("forward") and the cactus signifying Mexican border service. The unit was part of Second Cavalry Division until October, 1940 at which time they reverted back to being an independent regiment. In November, 1940 the regiment was re-organized into two line squadrons of three troops each, plus a Regimental HQ and Service Troop, a Machine Gun troop armed with .30 and .50 caliber guns, and a Special Weapons Troop consisting of 81 mm mortars and .50 caliber machine guns. Concurrent with this re-organization, the 11th moved to Camp Morena and Camp Seeley, California. This was their posting at the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941.

In June, 1942 personnel and equipment, but not the horses, were moved to Fort Benning and transferred to the 11th Armored Regiment. The 11th Armored was further broken up into two tank battalions and an armored reconnaissance troop. The lineage of the regiment was preserved through World War II in the 11th Cavalry Group which, like all Cavalry Groups, carried out Corps-level reconnaissance operations.

2001 marked the 100th Anniversary of the 11th Cavalry Regiment. The Blackhorse Association marked the occassion by issuing this challenge coin.