Can't locate much to help but here are a few items to clarify the family history. First, the move to Panola County Texas took place in late 1850 or early 1851. Zerubabel appears on the 1850 census of Winston County MS as a single man, but has a wife and several children born in Texas on the 1860 census of Winston County. Robert Thomas Patty was born just after the family returned from Texas, so he could not have been in the Civil War. His tombstone (shown below) gives his birth year as 1859, which matches the 1860 census.

If an "emergency" led Zerubabel to leave the state, we might speculate that he expected to be arrested on some serious charge and fled to Texas. One family tree on Ancestry gives a marriage date for Sarah Elizabeth Rebecca Lee at Nov 25, 1851, Panola County Texas. Can't locate the family in 1870. On the 1880 census she appears as S E Blackman with son R T Patty, born in Mississippi 1861. She has another child named Blackman who is nine years old, born in Texas. More speculation lead us to guess that Sarah Elizabeth has been widowed twice; once prior to 1871 and again by 1880. Apparently she lived in Texas when Zerubabel arrived and seems to have returned to Texas after his death.

Moving back to the 1850 census of Winston County, Zerubabel (or Zorubable) appears twice, once in the household of John William Patty, a prominent merchant of Louisville MS, and Jesse Patty, born about 1808 in South Carolina. John William Patty was born Oct 2, 1818, Laurens District, South Carolina, and died Nov 21, 1883, Noxubee County, Mississippi. Their sons were Albert, Francis Marion, William S, Thomas and Robert; all of whom have Confederate service files. The father of John and Jesse Patty was Charles Patty, who lived and died in South Carolina. Could be that Zerubabel was their brother.

With regard to the family having money, Jesse owned four slaves and John owned three. They appear to have been prosperous but not wealthy. It's no myserty as to what became of thier money; all Confederate bonds and paper script became worthless in 1865. As for Zerubabel being a plantation owner, I find no evidence to support that assertion. He owned no slaves and only a modest amount of land in 1860 ($1,000 real estate value). Zerubabel probably bought land on his return to Mississippi in 1859 but would have plowed his farm by the sweat of his own brow without the aide of sons or slaves.

No record of a Confederate service record in his name. Perhaps someone with access to Winston County records can ass more to this information.