Sounds similar to the life of Lewis Dixon of Simpson County, who was half African American and white. I believe that class was more important than race at this time. Lewis was well respected because of his white mother who was married to a wealthy white man from Natchez. Lewis was well known, his life written about, and yes a Confederate soldier with high indorsements. I have seen similar cultural references to mixed raced peoples like in South Alabama where if you had family ties and money, your race did not matter or was overlooked.