![eugene eugene](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYU6BFEUoAAoLyV.jpg)
The first winter Thomas worked for the French fur trader in the area. Thomas Place arrived in Wisconsin Territory at age 16, before the Native Americans had been pushed off this land.
![eugene eugene](https://www.vmcdn.ca/f/files/townandcountrytoday/images/athabasca-advocate/atha-salé-feat.jpg)
His body was returned to Racine where it was buried in a family plot in Mound Cemetery. During the time of the raid, Eugene was likely already in hospital in Memphis suffering through his last days of the disease that would take his life. Confederate Calvary under Nathan Bedford Forrest attempted a raid in Memphis to capture Union commanders, but they were ultimately rebuffed. On the Wisconsin 39th was the only of the 100 Days forces from Wisconsin to see combat. They performed guard and picket duty while the veteran troops they replaced shifted to the battle for Atlanta. The 3 Wisconsin 100 Days regimens were sent to Memphis after a week of training. The Wisconsin 39th Regimen mustered into service on, and he was assigned to Company D. The Place family’s two oldest sons were now serving in the Union Army. The 80,000 soldiers who joined were known as “100 Days Men” and Eugene enlisted 3 months after this 18th birthday ( ). The concept of a short-term enlistment for these rear guard troops was immediately adopted by President Lincoln. The Governor of Ohio proposed a surge of lightly trained soldiers to replace seasoned troops who were doing rear-guard duty. By the Spring of 1864, when Eugene turned 18 years old, the Union campaign in Georgia was gaining momentum. Luther was born in 1844, Eugene in 1846, Thomas Jr. Many of the boys Luther’s age enlisted the day the war broke out, and Eugene’s younger sister would marry one of those men when he returned from service. Eugene, at 16, was the oldest son left to help on the farm. His older brother Luther enlisted as a regular in the Union army when he was 19 years old. Eugene’s parents, Thomas and Susan Place, owned a large farm in Mount Pleasant, WI in the neighborhood of the unknown safe house that Joshua Glover was smuggled to after he was freed from the Milwaukee jail. In-fact, the farmers of Eastern Racine County were notoriously anti-slavery. He was the grandson of one of the first Americans to settle in the Wisconsin territory, and coming from a family that was staunchly committed to Abolition. Today, for Memorial Day, we remember one of his extended family members who gave the ultimate sacrifice: Eugene H Place.Įugene was Michael’s 4x Great Uncle and he lost his life in the Civil War. From King Philip’s war through World War 2, his ancestors have served, but thankfully none in his direct line have lost their lives in combat. The Leonard line, as it runs through Michael, has ancestors who fought in every conflict since Europeans arrived on this continent.