Deutscher Orden der Schwarzen Ritter

Deutscher Orden der Schwarzen Ritter (German Order of the Black Knights) was a German-American benefit fraternity, founded at Philadelphia in 1867, and principally active through New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C. The order took their name from "an ancient German body of knights whose existence is traced back as far as the time of King Arthur."

Structure
The order was made up of local bunds, governed by an Arbitrator and their officers &mdash; Arch Knight, Chief Knight, Scribe, Treasurer, Conductor, Order Knight, Swordbearer, Castle Ward, and Guard. These bunds, in turn, existed under the jurisdiction of regional state Subordinate Unions, which operated under the national Grand Union.