Prior to serving in the 48th Arkansas, Philip M. Quattlebaum served a private in the 10th Arkansas Infantry. He enlisted in Co. D, 10th Arkansas Infantry, at Springfield, Arkansas, on July 29, 1861, for twelve months. He was severely wounded at the Battle of Shiloh, April 6, 1862, and was furloughed home for sixty days. He never returned to the 10th Arkansas, and was dropped from the rolls on August 31, 1862. Later, in 1864, he served as a corporal in Co. G, 48th Arkansas Mounted Infantry. He was captured at Mound City, Kansas, on October 24, 1864; was confined as a prisoner of war at Rock Island Barracks, Illinois; was exchanged at City Point, Virginia, on March 23, 1865; and was paroled at Augusta, Georgia, on May 27, 1865.

He applied for an Arkansas Confederate pension from Van Buren County in 1892, which was approved on July 6 of that year (Pension No. 13072).