Dirk Van Raalte

Dirk B.K. Van Raalte (March 1, 1844 – February 10, 1910) was a Union soldier during the American Civil War and served as a member of the Michigan State Legislature for three different terms. Van Raalte was an active member in the community of Holland, Michigan, as a local businessman. He died from pneumonia and is buried in Pilgrim Home Cemetery.

Early life
Born on March 1, 1844, in Ommen Netherlands, Van Raalte was the fifth of ten total children of Albertus van Raalte and Christina Van Raalte; seven of those ten children survived into adulthood: three boys and four girls. He was named after a business partner of his father Albertus, who founded Holland, Michigan, and Hope College.

Military service
Van Raalte enlisted in the army a week after his older brother, Benjamin enlisted on August 20, 1862. The decision to enlist was supported by his father, Albertus, who encouraged Dutch boys to enlist. Christina, his mother, was not thrilled to have two of her three sons enlisted in the army. Christina would send both him and Benjamin treats along with extra clothes even against their wishes. In a letter home Benjamin explains "If I need anything I will write for it. Mother must not send me anything unless I ask for it." Van Raalte was part of the 25th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment. During his time of service he lost an arm during the Battle of Atlanta. While riding his horse through the woods, trying to deliver a message, Van Raalte was ambushed by Confederate soldiers and was shot in the forearm and shoulder after attempting to escape on horseback. His wounds led to the amputation of his right arm from the shoulder down. His family received the news of his injury through a letter written home on August 30, 1864, composed by Van Raalte himself, with help from his brother Benjamin. The horse Van Raalte was riding during the time of his injury was black, so for the rest of his life he refused to ride anything other than a black horse. After hearing the news of his son's injury, Albertus attempted to go south and bring his son back, but did not make it past Nashville, Tennessee, before being told to turn around by soldiers guarding the city.

Van Raalte began as a private in the army and was discharged as a hospital steward on April 13, 1865. He returned to Holland the spring after the war's close in 1865. All the letters from both Van Raalte and his brother Benjamin corresponding during the war can be found in collection 300 in Calvin College's Heritage Hall known as The Van Raalte papers.

Michigan State Legislature
In October 1880 Van Raalte married Kate Ledeboer, the sister of Willie Ledeboer a man who was in his regiment during the war. Together they had two sons, Albertus Christiaan and D.B.K Junior. The couple lived in the family house which Van Raalte purchased in 1875. During his tenure on the state legislature, which began twelve years after his discharge from the military, Van Raalte served two consecutive terms, and then return for a third term in 1909 until his death in 1910. His primary job on the legislature was serving on committee of ways and means. Van Raalte was well-liked by everyone on the legislature from all the different political parties. One fellow member is quoted as saying "Van Raalte is no mean opponent in scathing debate, and the representatives who can better him in sarcasm and ironical oratory may be counted upon the fingers of a single hand."

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The Van Raalte Papers
Throughout the Civil War, both Van Raalte sons maintained a consistent correspondence to their family in Holland, Michigan. Due to Albertus Van Raalte's legacy, Calvin College has preserved a collection of his letters, documents, and correspondence. Documented by historians and research specialists at Calvin, this correspondence has been translated from its original Dutch language into English. Buried within the archives of Heritage Hall at Calvin College, these letters serve as primary sources for additional information regarding the Van Raalte brothers and their experience within the Civil War. By studying the “Van Raalte papers” collection, one may discover not only the wartime experience of Albertus’ two sons but also the journey of their fellow Dutch-American soldiers within the 25th Michigan Volunteer Infantry.

Other primary sources
Expanding upon the Van Raalte papers, the author of this historiography collaborated with Hope College to research the archival collection of historian, Elton J. Bruins. Dr. Bruins’ collection of letters and photographs of the Van Raalte family has been compiled in a Hope College sponsored book, Albertus C. Van Raalte: Dutch Patriot and American Leader. This research compilation provides an excellent summary of the van Raalte family’s influence throughout West Michigan, Hope College, and the Civil War. Most importantly, it serves as an excellent reference point for the specific military accounts of Dirk and Benjamin van Raalte. Ultimately, this wealth of information from Dr. Bruins archives—Director of the A.C. Van Raalte Institution and former provost of Hope College—enabled Larry J. Wagenaar, director of the Joint Archives of Holland at Hope College, to produce this illustrated biography. For additional military correspondence from other Union soldiers, Michigan Men in the Civil War serves as a reference book for further inquiry. Written by librarian archivist, Ida C. Brown, the book provides a detailed bibliography of all the Civil War archives, letters, and correspondence stored within the University of Michigan. Although the book does not directly reference the collected correspondence of the Van Raalte brothers, it does provide resources for three other members of their infantry. In addition to this historiography, however, historians interested in researching further military correspondence can examine Twice told tales of Michigan and her soldiers in the Civil War. As the editor for the Detroit Society for Genealogical Research Magazine, Minnie Dubbs Millbrook wrote this book in conjunction with the research and archival contribution of the Michigan Civil War Centennial Observance Commission. By piecing together a collaboration of letters from Michigan soldiers during the Civil War, Millbrook allowed the stories of dozens of veterans to narrate themselves. Although she added historical commentary, the letters were used to provide authentic viewpoints and personal experiences of Michigan soldiers like Benjamin and Dirk Van Raalte. More specifically, for a personal account of the 25th Michigan Volunteer Infantry, historians should read the autobiography of Benjamin F. Travis. As a former Union soldier, Travis served as an eyewitness to the events surrounding the Van Raalte’s regiment in the Civil War. Through The Story of the Twenty-Fifth Michigan, Travis gave special attention to the triumphs of the Iron Brigade and provided details both of the regiment’s triumphs as well as its everyday experiences. In the end, this book serves as one of the only first-hand accounts of the 25th Michigan Infantry by detailing rich, historical information from an autobiographical perspective. For another primary source, historians should view My Country and Cross for further research. This collaboration of letters served to fulfill the life-long wish of John Anthony Wilterdink: to retell and publish his journey as a soldier in the Civil War fighting within the 25th Michigan Volunteer Infantry. By printing the letters in a chapter format, Albert H. McGeehan—historian and former mayor of Holland, Michigan—provided a commentary that contextualized Wilterdinks’ correspondence. Ultimately, this memoir provides a step-by-step account not only of Wilterdink’s experience within the regiment, but it also contextualizes the parallel stories of Dirk and Benjamin Van Raalte.