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Catalog Number
2020.9.492Title
De Boer, JanDescription
Image of Holland MI resident Jan De Boer's record of service in the "Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers in the Civil War, Vol. 8"History
Corporal Jan De Boer was born in 1839 in the Netherlands. On September 11th, 1861, he enlisted with the 8th Michigan Infantry, Co. D. He was taken prisoner on May 6th, 1864 at the battle of the Wilderness and was even held at the notorious Andersonville Prison before release. On March 1st, 1865 he attained the rank of Corporal. Jan passed on November 29th, 1886 and is interred in Pilgrim Home Cemetery.The 8th Michigan Infantry was organized on September 23rd, 1861. The regiment was engaged in the Second Battle of Bull Run from August 29th -30th, 1862. From there, the regiment was involved in the Maryland Campaign and fought at Antietam on September 17th. The regiment arrived in Vicksburg Mississippi on March 17th, 1863, where the regiment spent the next 6 months engaged in numerous battles. After a harrowing encounter with the Confederate General Longstreet west of Knoxville TN, the regiment returned to Detroit and reorganized. The regiment rejoined the army in March 1864. The regiment was involved in the battle of the Wilderness on May 6th, 1864, where the regiment counted 99 killed, wounded, and missing, including the Colonel. Lastly, the regiment was engaged in the battle of Spotsylvania and the siege of Petersburg, and was one of the first Union regiments to enter the city when it fell.