World History: 19th Century America, U.S. Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, Animal History, and National Archives Research Methods
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 is the only scholar worldwide ever to have uncovered over 100 previously unknown autograph Lincoln documents. He specializes in the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, and animals history, and has appeared on numerous media outlets discussing Lincoln and Civil War topics. He has received distinguished fellowships and honors from numerous organizations including the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Kentucky Historical Society, the United States Military Historical Institute, the University of Virginia's John L. Nau III Center for the Study of the American Civil War, and the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History.
“These Loyal Alabamians”: New Perspectives of the First Alabama Union Cavalry from the National Archives Pension Files and Records."[Article]
"The Fields of Battle: An Agricultural History of the Battle of Gettysburg." [Book]
"‘My Companion in All Places’: The Hidden History of Horses and Mules in the American Civil War." [Book]
'Put Crepe on Your Hat': The 1864 Burning and Rebuilding of Lincoln’s White House Stables,” White House History Quarterly [Forthcoming, 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.
Will that Thing Work? Civil War Naval Inventions, ”Civil War Times, 54, 1, (February 2015).
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).
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.
John H. Daniels Fellowship, National Sporting Library and Museum, 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 Papers of Abraham Lincoln, Corps of Discovery Award, 2007.
Virginia Polytechnic and Civil War Preservation Trust, Teacher’s Certificate, 2006.
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
Introduction to World History
Virginia History and the Old South, 1607-1867
Rebels & Redcoats: America’s War for Independence, 1763-1783
The Young Republic and the Age of Jackson, 1784-1848
House Divided: 1850s America and the Coming of the Civil War
Ordeal by Fire: America’s Civil War Era
The Diplomatic History of the United States, 1776-1920
America in the Progressive Age, 1890-1920
The Era of Jazz, Gin, and Jalopies, 1919-1929
The American Century, 1900-1994
The Other War: The Civil War on the Fringe
Storm Cradled Nation: The Confederate Experience, 1860-1865
The Immortal Abraham Lincoln: Man, Myth, and Reality
The House Divides: The American Civil War, 1860-1865
Themes in U.S. History, 1500-1865
Themes in U.S. History, 1877-Present
Doctor of Philosophy: Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, 1999. Advisor: John Y. Simon. Dissertation: Unchronicled Heroes: A Study of Union Cavalry Horses in the Eastern Theater--Care, Treatment & Use, 1861-1865
Master of Arts: Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, 1994. Dual-Thesis: The Lock on the Door: Island No. 10 and the Opening of the Mississippi and Collapse of the Iron Ring: The Failure of France’s Alliance with Czechoslovakia, 1919-1938
Bachelor of Arts: Wartburg College, Waverly, IA, 1991. Major: Political Science
“‘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.
“New Views of Old Abe: Digital History and the Papers of Abraham Lincoln,” Invited Speaker, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, December 2016.
“Rediscovering Lincoln,” Invited Speaker, Wartburg College, Waverly, IA, October 2016.
“Gone With the Wind: Fact versus Fiction in Historical Memory,” Invited Speaker, Lifelong Learning College, The Villages, FL, January 2016.
“Worth More Than a Battle Won: The Election of 1864,” Invited Speaker, Brunswick Civil War Round Table, Southport, NC, November 2014.
“Digital History and the Papers of Abraham Lincoln Project,” Invited Speaker, Lifelong Learning College, The Villages, FL, September 2014.
“’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.
"Representative Lincoln At Work." http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/930302-2017-dome-54-2
KALA Radio: Ambrose University, April 2017: "Relevant Or Irrelevant," https://soundcloud.com/david-baker-71/david-gerleman-the-papers-of-abraham-lincoln-roi-218-website-segment.