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Catalog Number
2020.9.635Title
Wolters, PeterDescription
Image of former Holland MI resident Peter Wolter's record of service in the "Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers in the Civil War, Vol. 8"History
Peter Wolters (also spelled Pieter, Walters) was born on December 30th, 1824 in the Netherlands. On Sep. 11th, 1861, he enlisted in the 8th Michigan Infantry Co. D. He served until May 26th, 1865. Shortly after the war, he moved to Grand Haven, MI where he passed on May 11th, 1886. He is interred in Lake Forest Cemetery in Grand Haven, 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.