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[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5363 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

114th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5363

To authorize the President to award the Medal of Honor posthumously to 
Corporal David Dunnels White of the United States Army for his capture 
of Confederate Major General George Washington Custis Lee at the Battle 
           of Sailor's Creek, Virginia, during the Civil War.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 26, 2016

  Mr. Lance (for himself and Mr. Neal) introduced the following bill; 
         which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To authorize the President to award the Medal of Honor posthumously to 
Corporal David Dunnels White of the United States Army for his capture 
of Confederate Major General George Washington Custis Lee at the Battle 
           of Sailor's Creek, Virginia, during the Civil War.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. AUTHORIZATION FOR AWARD OF MEDAL OF HONOR TO CORPORAL DAVID 
              DUNNELS WHITE FOR ACTS OF VALOR DURING THE CIVIL WAR.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Confederate Major General George Washington Custis Lee, 
        son of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, was forcibly captured 
        during the hard-fought, brutal, hand-to-hand combat of the 
        Battle of Sailor's Creek, Virginia, on April 6, 1865.
            (2) The capture of Major General Custis Lee contributed to 
        the disruption of the Confederate command structure, helped to 
        impede the ability of the Confederate leaders to coordinate 
        effective resistance, and brought the fighting to an earlier 
        conclusion, unquestionably saving many lives on both sides.
            (3) In 1894, Harris S. Hawthorn, a veteran of the 121st New 
        York Infantry Regiment, applied for and was awarded a Medal of 
        Honor for his stated role in the capture of Major General 
        Custis Lee.
            (4) In 1897, the 37th Massachusetts Regiment Veterans 
        Association filed a formal protest with the Secretary of War 
        against the award of a Medal of Honor to Harris S. Hawthorn for 
        the capture of Major General Custis Lee, asserting that 
        Corporal David Dunnels White of the 37th Massachusetts Infantry 
        Regiment actually captured Major General Custis Lee.
            (5) The 37th Massachusetts Regiment Veterans Association 
        provided a plethora of eyewitness testimony, sworn affidavits, 
        and physical evidence during their formal protest to support 
        their assertion regarding Corporal David Dunnels White's 
        capture of Major General Custis Lee.
            (6) In 1916, the Medal of Honor Review Board determined 
        that the act of capturing Major General Custis Lee at the 
        Battle of Sailor's Creek, Virginia, on April 6, 1865, was an 
        act worthy of, and qualified for, a Medal of Honor under laws 
        and regulations.
            (7) However, the matter of who actually captured Major 
        General Custis Lee remained unresolved by the Medal of Honor 
        Review Board.
            (8) The Center of Military History of the United States 
        Army, after an exhaustive review of this matter in 2011, stated 
        the following in their concluding memoranda dated August 9th 
        and 11th, 2011:
                    (A) ``Corporal White is widely acknowledged as the 
                captor of Confederate MG George Washington Custis Lee 
                during the Battle of Sailor's Creek, Virginia, on 6 
                April, 1865.''.
                    (B) ``Both White and Hawthorn are credited with 
                capturing General Lee in the reports published in The 
                War of the Rebellion, but this is misleading. The 
                cumulative evidence presented in the recommendation 
                packet indicates that White rather than Hawthorn 
                captured Lee.''.
            (9) The Center of Military History, having weighted all the 
        evidence in this matter, made a determination that Corporal 
        David Dunnels White of the 37th Massachusetts Infantry 
        Regiment, rather than Harris S. Hawthorn, was the actual captor 
        of Major General Custis Lee at the Battle of Sailor's Creek, 
        Virginia, April 6, 1865.
    (b) Waiver of Time Limitations.--Notwithstanding the time 
limitations specified in section 3744 of title 10, United States Code, 
or any other time limitation with respect to the awarding of certain 
medals to persons who served in the Armed Forces, the President may 
award the Medal of Honor posthumously under section 3741 of such title 
to Corporal David Dunnels White of the 37th Massachusetts Infantry 
Regiment, United States Army, for the acts of valor during the Civil 
War described in subsection (c).
    (c) Acts of Valor Described.--The acts of valor referred to in 
subsection (b) are the actions of Corporal David Dunnels White of the 
37th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment who, at the risk of his own life 
and above and beyond the call of duty, exhibiting gallantry and 
intrepidity, pursued and forcibly captured, singlehandedly, Confederate 
Major General George Washington Custis Lee at the Battle of Sailor's 
Creek, Virginia, on April 6, 1865, which contributed to the disruption 
of the Confederate command structure, helped to impede the ability of 
the Confederate leaders to coordinate effective resistance, and brought 
the fighting to an earlier conclusion, unquestionably saving many lives 
on both sides.
                                 <all>
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