I am curious if anyone knows what would happen to a Confederate soldier who had taken the Oath of Allegiance as a criteria for release from a federal POW camp if and when they ran into a Confederate unit still fighting?

MY circumstance is regarding my G-G Uncle who was released from Point Lookout prison in MD in Feb 1865. He had been in prison since Gettysburg (19 months). He had to take the Oath of Allegiance in order to be released. On his travels back home to Alabama, before the surrender of Lee's army at Appomattox or the surrender at Citronelle, he may have crossed paths with Confederate army, bounty hunters or home guard units who might assume he should be in the Confederate army. What would the Confederate army have done with him? Would they have recognized the Oath and let him continue home? Or would they have arrested him, forced him back into service?

In this case, it would have been obvious, I think, that my G-G Uncle would not have been in any condition to fight, but what abut other circumstances where maybe they were able to fight but had signed the oath? I have seen references to men signing the Oath and returning to fight in the Union army, but I am curious what the confederate army would have done with a soldier they found in this circumstance. Especially this late in the war, but with desertions a major problem.

Thanks for any insight.