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Catalog Number
2020.9.510Title
Doesburg, OttoDescription
Image of Holland MI resident Otto Doesburg's record of service in the "Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers in the Civil War, Vol. 8", and obituary in the November 5th, 1908 edition of the Holland City News, p. 5History
Corporal Otto Doesburg was born on February 18th, 1840 in the Netherlands. He came to America with his parents and siblings in 1848. His two brothers, Gerrit and Jacob, both served in the 25th Michigan Co. I, but Otto enlisted in the 8th Michigan Infantry Co. D on September 11th, 1861. From Jan. 7th - Apr. 6th, 1864 he was on duty with the 20th Michigan Infantry. He finished his service on September 22nd, 1864. After the war, he was the publisher of the Holland City News from 1877 - 1881. Otto passed on October 29th, 1908 in Chicago, Illinois. He 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 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.