I have been researching the 8th Louisiana for a number of years. Interestingly, almost all of the men who joined the 3d Maryland Cavalry were men who were captured while straggling either just before or just after Gettysburg. It seems that only one of the men who joined after capture can be verified as captured during the fighting. All of the other men captured while fighting endured their prison stay, many until the end of the war. While the prisoner exchange program was breaking down at this time, this may have been a convenient way to stay out of a long prison stay. The Federals very likely told all of the men that the prisoner exchange program was being discontinued and this may have been the incentive that they needed to jump sides. Like the previous writers, I have seen that most of the men who became galvanized were of foreign birth, and I have always taken that to mean that their heart was just not in the fight as much as many of the men born here. I have seen where a couple of them later deserted the 3d Maryland Cavalry but did not research that unit to see if it was just before or during their tour in New Orleans. Oddly though, a good many had served in all of the previous campaigns and this one seems to have turned their heart. Although a bit off topic, the 8th actually had more men enlist in George Ahl's Delaware Battery after taking the Oath than the 3d Maryland Cavalry. It is my understanding that Ahl's men performed guard duty at Fort Delaware so that must have presented some awkward moments as well since many of the Gettysburg captives from Louisiana were taken to Fort Delaware. A few others joined other commands that were sent west to fight Indians. Also strange is that I do not see any men captured in campaigns "post" Gettysburg that joined US service in the 8th Louisiana. Some took the Oath but I do not see any joining other Federal commands. Lastly, in trying to find any of these veterans post-war, I have not found ANY that galvanized showing up in New Orleans or Louisiana for that matter afater the war. Many had common names that could not be positively identified anyway but I would make the assumption that they were not very welcome in Reconstructed Louisiana, at least not by the native citizens.