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Catalog Number
2020.9.548Title
Mulder, KarelDescription
Image of Holland MI resident Karel Mulder's record of service in the "Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers in the Civil War, Vol. 8" and obituary in the May 13th, 1876 edition of Holland City News, page five.History
Karel Mulder (also called Karl) was born in 1839 in the Netherlands. On September 11th, 1861 he enlisted in the 8th Michigan Infantry Co. D. He was on duty with the 20th Michigan from Jan. 7th - Apr. 6th 1864. He finished his service on September 23rd, 1864. He passed on May 7th, 1876 near Zeeland, MI. He is interred in the Old Vriesland Cemetery in Zeeland, MI.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 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.