David Dunnels White
| David Dunnels White | |
|---|---|
David Dunnels White circa 1885
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| Birth name | David Dunnels White |
| Born |
April 14, 1844 Cheshire, Massachusetts |
| Died | September 9, 1924 (aged 80) Hawley, Massachusetts |
| Buried at | Bozrah Cemetery, Hawley, Massachusetts |
| Allegiance |
 United States of America |
| Service/branch |
 United States Army
|
| Years of service | 1862–1865 |
| Rank | Corporal |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
David Dunnels White (April 14, 1844 – February 9, 1924) was a farmer who served as a Union soldier during the American Civil War. His "single-handed capture of Confederate Major General George Washington Custis Lee" in 1865 became widely publicized in 2011 as an act that possibly ended the war early, saving many lives. As of 2015[update], his nomination for a Medal of Honor was being reviewed by the United States Army.
David Dunnels White was born in Cheshire, Massachusetts, the son of Stewart and Elizabeth White née Ames. A farmer, White enlisted in the Union Army on August 21, 1862, as a private soldier within the 37th Massachusetts Infantry Volunteers of the VI Corps.
On April 6, 1865, Private White spotted a Confederate general officer during hand-to-hand combat in the Battle of Sailor's Creek, Virginia. Private White broke through the Union/Confederate battle line and confronted the officer, halted him at gunpoint, and demanded his surrender. The Confederate officer was Major General G. W. Custis Lee, a major general within the Army of Northern Virginia. Initially, Lee refused to surrender to an enlisted man, but he did surrender when White took him to his commanding officer, Lieutenant William Morrill. In White’s own words, he was "thunderstruck" to learn that he had just captured the eldest son of General Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. Harris S. Hawthorne of the 121st New York Infantry also laid claim to Lee's capture and was awarded a Medal of Honor for it in 1894. Three years later, a protest was lodged on behalf of White, but was rejected, as was an appeal of the rejection. In an appeal for the Army to reconsider its denial, Civil War historian Sharon MacDonald argues that Hawthorne lied; White's account was Lee was recaptured after he escaped, having already been disarmed, and in the 2011 Medal of Honor request for White, the United States Army Center of Military History supports White's claim.
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