Becky,

Although there are others better versed than I about this subject, I'll take a stab at your question regarding rank. During the war, particularly the early part, rank, at least on the company and even sometime the regimental level was not by appointment, but by election. There seems to be little historical information available on the particular unit that Harkey was in initially, but the term "State Troops", indicates that it was not accepted into Confederate service. Sometimes units were intended for Confederate service, but were never accepted. Sometimes they were organized solely for service within the state, and often were called up for specific terms, i.e. 6 or 12 months. These units were under the control of the governor, and not the Confederate military. Whatever the reason for his unit's existence, his rank as an officer in a state unit would not transfer to a unit in Confederate service, particularly one like the 2nd Miss. Cavalry, which already had its own cadre of officers and had already seen service in the field when he joined.

Hope this helps.

Rick