He can certainly be considered a "war" veteran having been in battles, but my take on this is that he was not a soldier. He in all likelihood was taken to war by his master like so many other slaves. And like a good number of them who returned from the war and remained in the community where they were enslaved, he was remembered and honored for his service. In addition to being conferred with honorary memberships, these individuals can also be seen getting confederate pensions.