From my research it appears that two seperate "5th Kentucky" existed. The first was the real military unit that disbanded in Oct 1862. The other was a pack of outlaws, deserters, and men acting as a kind of home guard in Eastern Kentucky fro 1862-1865 led by officers from the real 5th who did not reenlist. One such outlaw was Isaac "Ike" Hall, Jr who deserted from the real 5th and continued to maraud thru Eastern Kentucky until shot and killed by his own family. (google the Isaac Hall Murder). After the war was over many of these outlaws tried to rehabilitate their reputations by ascribing to a false history of riding with the real 5th Ky recognized by the CSA. I can place dozens of men who claimed to have served with the 5th far away from the battlefields ascribed to the 5th, and instead ranging around the mountains of Eastern Kentucky perpetuating a host of crimes. It appears also that many men with rebel sympathies - and not outlaws - served in this ad hoc partisan unit as a kind of Home Guard during the rebellion. Wolfe and Morgan Counties were two counties they seemed to operate in from 1862-1865, especially Hazel Green, Wolfe (once Morgan) County.

After the war was over, many of these men banded together as "regulators" to intimidate voters, chase all blacks from several counties, thwart the reestablishment of civil law ( like my ggg uncle John T Williams in Morgan County). Members of the outlaw 5th were known to go to the polls and keep Union men from voting by open threats and brandishing firearms. Remember that this was the era before the secret ballot and men were expected to publicly use a ballot provided by their party and identifiable on sight. Many of these men were not allowed to vote as traitors to Kentucky or especially to serve in public office; but the "regulators" made sure they did vote and serve as judges and sheriffs.

One must be careful when claiming membership in the 5th Ky to differentiate between the men who fought valiantly with a real military unit and the partisan outlaws who sullied the name of the real soldiers. For more information see Marlitta Perkins many excellent articles concerning Eastern Kentucky during and after the rebellion:

http://eakycivilwar.blogspot.com/