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Catalog Number
2020.9.506Title
De Jong, Jan W.Description
Image of Holland MI resident Jan W. De Jonge's record of service in the "Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers in the Civil War, Vol. 8",History
Jan W. DeJonge was born in 1817. On September 11th, 1861, he enlisted with the 8th Michigan Infantry Co. D. On November 16th, 1863 he was taken prisoner in Lenore, TN and eventually released. However, a few short months later on February 13th, 1864 he died in Annapolis, MD of a disease he caught in the prison. He is interred in the Zeeland Cemetery in Zeeland, MI, and his name can be found on the Soldier's Monument 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 Mississipi on March 17th, 1863, where the regiment spent the next 6 months engaged in numerous battles. After a harrowing encounter with the Confederate General Longstreeet 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.;Read More