bugle
Catalog Number
1947.50.1Materials
brass, copperDimensions
5.25 X 5 in.Description
Brown bugle, heavily damaged throughout.History
Bugle carried throughout Civil War by John Nies of Holland, Company D, 2nd Michigan Cavalry.Jan (John) Nies was born February 29, 1836 in Groningen, the Netherlands. His father, Derk Nies, and Mother, Ikien Nieuwenhuis, along with their children immigrated to Michigan in 1852. John was the eldest son and as such felt it was his duty to represent the family in the Civil War. He enlisted in the 2nd Michigan Calvary Regiment in September 1861. He served for 3 years and 2 months. He was discharged in 1864. He married Johanna Quintina Kruizenga. At his wife’s insistence, John Nies quit farming after the war and opened up a hardware business in Saugatuck. In 1896 they moved to Holland and opened a large Hardware store under the name “John Nies Sons and Co.” John died May 22, 1920, he is buried at Riverside Cemetery, Saugatuck, MI.