I came across the following article. I suspect that W.C. Cates is a nephew
to John Sykes Cates (1808-1880). In other words, I believe W.C. Cates'
grandfather was Thomas Sykes Cates. I base this view on the letter Rev.
J.M.D. Cates wrote to W.C. Cates. But I don't know who his parents were. Can
anyone give me additional information about his parents and siblings?
Incidentally, the article was accompanied by a sketch of W.C. Cates. I
would be interested in contacting anyone working on this family.
Kathy
W. Carrol Cates
W. C. Cates was born August 13, 1840, and died November 14, 1902. He
volunteered August 2, 1861, and became a member of the Forty-First Tennessee
Regiment, C.S.A. The regiment was surrendered at Fort Donelson in February,
1862, and the privates were carried to Camp Morton, Indiana, where they were
kept till the September following, and were then sent to Vicksburg, Miss.,
for exchange. This command was reorganized and participated in many
battles. Among the severer were Raymond, Miss., Jackson, Port Hudson,
Missionary Ridge, Chickamauga, Resaca, Ga., New Hope Church, Atlanta,
Jonesboro, Franklin and Nashville. Cal Cates always discharged his duty
fully. At Missionary Ridge he was severely wounded in the shoulder. On
another occasion an exploding shell covered his body with earth, and on July
22, 1864, near Atlanta, he received an ounce Minie ball in his hip. It
lodged near the spine and could not be extracted; hence he carried it in his
body to the grave. Recovering sufficiently, with the ball in his hip, he
again joined his command at Corinth, Miss., and kept up as best he could
until he reached North Carolina, and at Greensboro was paroled on April 30,
1865.
No man ever lived who was more loyal to the cause he espoused and for which
he fought so long and bled so freely; no man ever lived who was prouder of
his record. It is said they could neither take his life nor shake his
integrity. After the surrender he of course made a quiet, worthy citizen.
He was honest to the penny. Comrade Cates belonged to Frierson Bivouac,
of Shelbyville, Tenn., which passed memorial resolutions in his honor.
The editor of the VETERAN was his comrade, knew him intimately, and had his
patronage and his blessing from its beginning. He made and held friends
without effort. There was a subtle wit in his ordinary conversation which
made his company most agreeable. He was faithful to his friends; would
continue to buy from the same merchant, never looking for better bargains
from others. On one occasion he was going by a store to purchase an
article, when a solicitor for trade said to him: We keep that. Yes, he
replied, and Carney sells it.
He was amusingly economical. For instance, he carried in his knapsack a
pair of blue trousers issued to him in prison, 1862, through the severe
eventful campaigns that followed quite on to the end of the war.
The picture here given will interest those who knew him.
Since the above was ready for the press, a report of proceedings of William
Frierson Bivouac (Camp) has been received, in which a committee comprised of
Robert Singleton, Joe H. Hastings, and J.F. Johnston presented a highly
eulogistic tribute to Comrade Cates as a man true to all the
responsibilities of life.
Article appeared in Confederate Veteran, February, 1903
A related brief note appeared in Confederate Veteran, February, 1894:
CARROL CATES YANKEE BREECHES. The peculiarities of men were brought out
in high degree during the war. W.C. Cates, who was a member of my regiment,
was conspicuously careful, and the fact that he wore out a pair of blue
pants, issued to him in prison during February, 1862, when back in the
service, by carrying them in his knapsack, is a vivid illustration. He
writes: I tried them on once, and they proved to be knee pants. I kept
them until the fall of 63, when I exchanged them for two pairs of rebel
gray pants. The other fellow wanted the blue ones for Sunday. The average
Confederate would not have carried them so long for their weight in gold.
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