I 
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 Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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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 find-
ings: 
(1) Confederate Major General George Wash-
ington Custis Lee, son of Confederate General Rob-
ert 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 resist-
ance, and brought the fighting to an earlier conclu-
sion, 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 
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David Dunnels White of the 37th Massachusetts In-
fantry Regiment actually captured Major General 
Custis Lee. 
(5) The 37th Massachusetts Regiment Veterans 
Association provided a plethora of eyewitness testi-
mony, sworn affidavits, and physical evidence during 
their formal protest to support their assertion re-
garding 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 quali-
fied for, a Medal of Honor under laws and regula-
tions. 
(7) However, the matter of who actually cap-
tured 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 acknowl-
edged as the captor of Confederate MG George 
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Washington Custis Lee during the Battle of 
Sailor’s Creek, Virginia, on 6 April, 1865.’’. 
(B) ‘‘Both White and Hawthorn are cred-
ited with capturing General Lee in the reports 
published in The War of the Rebellion, but this 
is misleading. The cumulative evidence pre-
sented 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 de-
termination 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.—Notwith-
standing 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, 
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for the acts of valor during the Civil War described in sub-
section (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 intre-
pidity, 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 Confed-
erate command structure, helped to impede the ability of 
the Confederate leaders to coordinate effective resistance, 
and brought the fighting to an earlier conclusion, unques-
tionably saving many lives on both sides. 
Æ 
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