Benjamin Austin | Richard Bailey | Enos W. Brazelton | William Blount | Burwell Boykin | Wesley Brown | William Bryant | James Brown | Thomas Caldwell | Benjamin Caraway | Allen Capps | George Carter | James Cathey | David Chapman | Henry L Chapman | John F. Chapman | T. W. Casay | William B Cathay | William L. Cathey
William L. Cathey
*William L. Cathey joined 3rd Alabama Cavalry, Company F in Perry County, Alabama as a Private on the 20 August 1862.
He was paid $24.40 for the use and risk of his horse on 30 April 1863 by Captain I Gibbons.
At first I wondered if William B Cathey and William L Cathey were one in the same man but they are not. After a little bit of studying and searching I learned that William B Cathey died in the Battle of Perryville, 8 October 1862 and William L was still alive the following spring.
The point that concerned me was that William L was alive at the end of the war so that meant he should have been on the Oct 1864 typed muster roll list and he was not. The reason for this is that the transcriber was incorrect and he is listed on the original muster roll for Oct 1864. When I first viewed the typed list and the original roll I saw that the original roll was very dark and so I just had the Alabama Archives copy for me the typed list. On the typed list he is named Cauthen, Wm. S. 4th Corp. But on the original muster roll he is listed as William L. Cathey. Often the old handwriting can be very hard to read. William L was enlisted as a private by Captain William B Cathey in Perry County on 20 August 1862. This record from William L Cathey `s compiled military service record clearly shows the two William' s as being two different men.
William L Cathey was still alive on the following Company Muster rolls:
30 Apr to 30 June 1863
31 Oct to 31 Dec 1863
And he is listed again the following spring, at the end of the war, on a roll of Prisoners of War of stragglers, Confederate State Army on 4 May 1865 and paroled at Selma, Alabama.
At this point I have not located any family for William L Cathey. On one paper it listed a residence in Murrey County , Tennessee. So it is possible that he lived at one point in Tennessee and I might be able to find him there on the census instead of on the census for Alabama.
The name of William S Cauthen is found on the type list for this company but it is a transcription error and the name really is William L Cathey.
Sources
1. United States. Record and Pension Office., Compiled Service records of Confederate soldiers who served in organizations from the state of Alabama., Washington C. C. : The National Archives, 1961-1962.Third Alabama Cavalry A-D 1861-1865 FHL#0880338.
2. Alabama Department of Archives and History, Alabama 3 Reg file box Typed copy of Muster roll dated 31 October 1864, Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama.
3. Alabama Department of Archives and History, Alabama Confederate Service Cards. Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, Alabama.Microfilm cards "From an 8 x 5 card file maintained by the Alabama Department of Archives and History from the early 1900s until 1982. As staff came across information related to Alabama individuals during the American Civil War a card was created. Information on individuals exempted from military service or who served in the militia or home guard is included. If new information was discovered from another source, another card was created. Multiple cards for an individual often exist. Sources include muster rolls, governors' correspondence, veterans' censuses, manuscript collections, newspapers and pension records. Names, places and events are often inconsistently spelled."
If you are a descendant or have stories or memorabilia about this unit contact Susette Cook. susette_cook@hotmail.com susette_cook@hotmail.com
By Susette Cook