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Catalog Number
2020.9.592Title
Van Dyke, JanDescription
Image of Holland MI area resident Jan. Van Dyk's record of service in the "Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers in the Civil War, Vol. 8" and obituary in the Aug. 31, 1922 edition of Holland City news, page two.History
Jan Van Dyk was born on November 5th, 1838 in the Netherlands. He came to America in 1847 with his family, including his younger brother Hendrik and older brother Jacob. On December 30th, 1863 he enlisted in the 8th Michigan Infantry Co. D. He was promoted to Corporal on March 1st, 1865 and completed his service on July 30th, 1865. During the war, his belt buckle saved his life when a bullet hit it; he was uninjured. He passed on August 23rd, 1922 in Holland, MI 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 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.