Here are the Confederate Nathaniels (and initials that could be Nathaniel)
from the index of compiled service records. Cynthia, I don't know how many
of these service records you have already, but I have listed them all. Some
of them could be the same soldier serving in more than one regiment:
1. CATO, Nathan - Pvt - 2nd Company K, 2nd MO Cav
2. CATO, Nathan L. - Corp - Company B, 2nd Batt'n Cavalry, 1st Division, MO
State Guards
3. CATO, Nathaniel - Pvt - Company I, 10th GA Inf
4. CATO, Nathaniel - Pvt - Company D, 7th MO Cav. Also served in Company
C, Phelan's Reg't, MO
5. CATO, Nathaniel - Pvt - Captain Woodson's Company, MO Cav
6. CATE, N. L. - Sgt/Pvt - Company C, 5th (McKenzie's) TN Cav (see also the
compiled service record of Philip Warick, substitute)
7. CATER, N. C. - Pvt - Company I, 10th GA Inf (note: this is the same
fellow as #3, above. One of his muster rolls apparently had his named
spelled as "N.C. Cater", so this variation was also listed on the index,
even though all of the cards were filed together under "Nathaniel Cato").
8. CATER, N. J. - Pvt - Company K, 1st MS Light Artillery (all records
filed under: "N. S. Cater")
9. CATER, N. S. - Pvt - Company K, 1st MS Light Artillery (same man as #8)
10. CATES, N. - Pvt - Company K, 17th AL Inf
11. CATES, N. - Pvt - Company F, 76th AL Inf
12. CATES, N. A. - (no rank given) - Company I, 3rd AL Inf (filed under:
"Nathaniel Coats")
13. CATES, Nathaniel - Pvt - Company E, 31st NC Inf
14. CATES, N. J. - Pvt/3 Lt - Company G, 11th TX Inf (Roberts' Reg't)
It is good to remember that during the Civil War, a person did not
necessarily enlist in the same state that they lived in. Things got
especially interesting where Union states bordered Confederate ones. For
example, there was a lot of crossover between Arkansas, which was
"officially" a Confederate state, and Missouri, which was "officially"
a
Union state. The same thing where Tennessee (Confederate) met Kentucky
(Union). There were some Confederate regiments formed in Union states, and
Union regiments formed in Confederate states.
The other thing to consider is the fact that Confederate conscriptors
"drafted" men who didn't sign up for the Army by forcibly taking them from
their homes. There are a lot of men in Confederate states who have compiled
service records on both sides of the war--not necessarily because they
changed their minds. There were a large number of Confederate soldiers who
deserted. Some of the deserters were men who were conscripted and ran away
the first chance they got. Others were men who were loyal to the
Confederate cause, but would "desert" from time to time to go home and check
on their families or crops and then rejoin their regiments as soon as they
could. Some of the captured Confederates took the oath of allegiance in
order to be paroled from Union prisons, but that doesn't mean they changed
sides. Others took the oath and asked to join the Union side, simply
because they knew they couldn't safely return to their homes again after
taking the oath.
Many men just wanted to survive to get back to their families, but in this
war there could be no neutrality. They had to declare their allegiance one
way or the other. Keeping to themselves and just staying out of the war was
not an option.
I am not aware of any Confederate Catos who became "Galvanized Yankees",
that is, taking the oath and then joining the Union Army. To my knowledge,
Confederate Catos who were captured either took the oath of allegiance to
the U.S. and returned home (at great peril), or took the oath and rejoined a
Confederate regiment again after being paroled.
You can look up these soldiers and get regimental histories and lists of
other men who served in the same regiments at the Soldiers' and Sailors'
website which is at:
www.itd.nps.gov/cwss
Everyone listed at that site would have a compiled service record on
microfilm at NARA. This site, which is maintained by the National Park
Service, was created using the NARA indexes to compiled service records.
Peggy Reeves