Bob,

The Arkansas River was a very fickeled river especially between Pine Bluff and Napolean. It was very shallow between Pine Bluff and Arkansas Post and tended to change course during floods and high waters.

This was one of the reasons that the Union Navy couldn't take advantage of using their Heavy Ironclads to come up the Arkansas River and capture Little Rock. To be sure there were many other reasons way the Union higher commands didn't want to take Little Rock until Vicksburg fell, but water levels on the lower Arkansas R. was one of the main reason that they didn't.

Appearently the Confederates at Douglas Plantation were not too worried about the Union Gunboats and Transports moving past them on the River. Them seemed to only be interested in stopping a advance overland.

And yes Napolean Arkansas was a thorne in the Union Navies side because it was used by the Confederates to warn of activites on both the Mississippi and Arkansas R. At one time it was propsed to move the union base from Helena, Ark. and reestablish it at Napolean, because of Napoleans control of the access to the Arkansas. This was proposed to allow the Union navy to build a chain boom across the Arkansas and prevent the CSS Ponchartrain from breaking back out into the Mississippi.