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.

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.

[4] 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.

The Army Decorations Board in Fort Knox, Kentucky, however, recommended on July 11, 2011, that David D. White receive a Medal of Honor for the capture of Confederate Major General Custis Lee at the Battle of Sailor's Creek, Virginia.

[9] His official citation is: "...for the single-handed capture of Confederate Major General George Washington Custis Lee during the 'hand to hand' Battle of Sailor's Creek, Virginia, on April 6, 1865".