David J. Gerleman

David J. Gerleman is a Nineteenth Century historian and emeritus assistant editor of The Papers of Abraham Lincoln, a project dedicated to identifying and publishing all documents written by or sent to Lincoln during his lifetime. Dr. Gerleman specializes in the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, and animal history, and has appeared on multiple media outlets discussing Lincoln and Civil War topics. He has received distinguished fellowships and honors from numerous organizations including Virginia Center for Civil War Studies at Virginia Tech, the Massachusetts and Kentucky Historical Societies, the United States Military Historical Institute, the University of Virginia's Center for the Study of the American Civil War, and the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History.

Current Research

“These Loyal Alabamians”: New Perspectives of the First Alabama Union Cavalry from the National Archives Pension Files and Records."[Article]

"‘My Companion in All Places’: The Hidden History of Horses and Mules in the American Civil War." [Book]

Selected Publications

'Put Crepe on Your Hat': The 1864 Burning and Rebuilding of Lincoln’s White House Stables,” White House History Quarterly [Forthcoming, 2022].

"As Much a Military Supply as a Barrel of Gunpowder: Horses and Mules as 19^th Century Engines of War” in Animal Histories of the Civil War Era, ed. Earl Hess. LSU Press, 2022.

“Who Will Employ an Old Line Whig? Joshua L. Henshaw and the Perils of Patronage,” For The People: The Newsletter of the Abraham Lincoln Association, Vol. 23, Spring 2021.

“Attuned to the Past: Reconstructing the Civil War Legacies of the Parton Brothers of Sevier County, Tennessee,” The Journal of East Tennessee History, Vol. 91, 2019. Winner of the McClung Award

“The Campaign for Island No. 10: February 28-April 8, 1862,” The Essential Civil War Curriculum, (2019), Online: https://www.essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com/island-no.-10.html

“Bring Our Glorious Flag Triumphantly Back into Texas: Anthony M. Dignowity, Abraham Lincoln, and the Restoration of the Lone Star State,” Our Heritage, 59, 3 & 4, (Spring and Summer 2018), 12-19.

“Veterinary Care in the Union Cavalry,” (p. 115-134) in Astride Two Worlds: Technology and the American Civil War, ed. Barton C. Hacker. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, 2016.

On Lincoln’s Side: Reelecting a Leader, the Editors of the Papers of Abraham Lincoln, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Springfield, IL, 2014. (Co-Editor).

On Lincoln’s Mind: Leading the Nation to the Gettysburg Address, the Editors of the Papers of Abraham Lincoln, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Springfield, IL, 2013. (Co-Editor).

“French Regimental Flags of the American Revolution, 1777-1783.” Guide Pamphlet. Washington, DC: The Society of the Cincinnati Anderson House Museum. (2001; 2006).

Grants and Fellowships

Virginia Museum of History & Culture: Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship, 2020-2021.

John L. Nau III Center for the Study of the American Civil War, Research Fellowship, University of Virginia, 2020-2021.

National Sporting Library and Museum, John H. Daniels Fellowship, 2020-2021.

Benjamin F. Stevens Fellowship, Massachusetts Historical Society, 2019-2020.

Research Fellowship, Virginia Center for Civil War Studies, Virginia Tech University, 2019-2020.

Kentucky State Historical Society Scholarly Research Fellowship, 2018-2019.

United States Military Academy, West Point Summer Seminar in Military History, 2012

David Warren Bowman Award for Best Paper, Alabama Association of Historians, 2011.

The Filson Historical Society, Research Fellowship, 2009.

University of Illinois-Springfield, APAC Professional Development Award, 2009; 2012; 2013.

National Historical Publications and Records Commission/ Wisconsin Historical Society, Institute for the Editing of Historical Documents Certificate, 2008.

The Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship, 2005.

U. S. Military Historical Institute General and Mrs. Matthew B. Ridgeway Post-Doctoral Research Grant, 2005

Courses Taught

HIST 125-003: Introduction to World History

09:30 AM to 10:20 AM MWF

HIST 125-005: Introduction to World History

11:30 AM to 12:20 PM MWF

HNRS 240-006: Reading Lincoln

01:30 PM to 02:45 PM MW

Education

Doctor of Philosophy: Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, 1999.

Master of Arts:  Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, 1994.

Bachelor of Arts: Wartburg College, Waverly, IA, 1991.

Recent Presentations

“‘As Much a Military Supply as a Barrel of Gunpowder’: Horses and Mules Procurement,” Virginia Tech University Civil War Weekend, March 2021.

“Lincoln’s Majordomo: Benjamin Brown French and Civil War Washington,” U.S. Capitol Historical Society Scholar Lecture Series, May 2020.

“John Singleton Mosby in History and Memory: Confederate Guerilla, Federal Partisan or Southern Pariah?” National Sporting Library and Museum, Middleburg, VA, August, 2019.

“History on the Hoof: Researching New England’s Horse and Dairy Industry during the Era of the American Civil War,” Massachusetts Historical Society, August 2019.

"Men on Horseback: Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, and the Equestrian Image of the Commander-in-Chief," Invited Speaker, National Sporting Library and Museum, Middleburg, VA, June 2019.

"A Most Shut-Mouthed Man: Abraham Lincoln in Myth and Reality," Invited Speaker, John Locke Institute, Oxford University, Washington, DC, November 2018.

"Attuned to the Past: The Parton Family Legacy and Civil War History," Presenter, Society of Appalachian Historians, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, May 2018.

“’Bring Our Glorious Flag Triumphantly Back into Texas’: Anthony M. Dignowity, Abraham Lincoln, and the Restoration of the Lone Star State,” Presenter, Texas State Historical Association Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, March 2014.

In the Media

"Representative Lincoln At Work." (VISIT)

KALA Radio: Ambrose University, April 2017: "Relevant Or Irrelevant," (VISIT)