Bryan My understanding is that the attack on Arkansas Post was somewhat expected from the Confederate Standpoint. The actual date and time may have been unknown like the invasion of Normandy. But, they seemed to have been making plans for an attack by moving units into place which could act as re-enforcements in case of an attack such as Walker's Texas Division.

There seemed to be at least 3 reasons for building Arkansas Post anyway. It location was an overextended placement which on the surface seemed impracticable placed too far outside the operational envelope of the untried Confederate Army in Arkansas 1862.

The First, which everyone knows was to control the Arkansas and White Rivers. But this was being handled pretty well by mobile units such as M.M. Parsons Brigade and later R.R. Garlands' operating along the banks.

The Second, was to protect the supply line from Mississippi to Little Rock along the south Bank of the Arkansas. According to the Letters of John Bull, and telegrams of Gen Hindman to Capt Lackmann in August 1862, indicate that the Union gunboat blockade was not completely successful and leaked like a sieve. In late July 1862 M.M. Parson's crossed the Mississippi River returning to Arkansas with his entire Brigade, Ordance and supply trains near Gaines Landing, AR. on the Mississippi. Also with him was a 100 wagon wagontrain of supplies for Little Rock and 25 unattached pieces of Artillery bounded for the same location. Gen. Curtis actually sent a force from Helena down river to try to catch up to this operation. We are now finding that sick and wounded men from Trans-Mississippi Units in the hospital at Corinth, Mississippi were also being transferred back to their home state for treatment by this route. So, it was more active than we have previously known.

The Third, was as a base of operations to Harrass the Union shipping along the Mississippi. Within this objective was the efforts to support confederate operations in Mississippi against the Union Army operating against Vicksburg. This was agree upon by none other than President Davis, Joe Johnson, and Braxton Bragg. This is the reason that Gen Johnson released men to re-enforce Gen. Bragg's Tennessee operations, which ended in the Battle os Murfreesboro. And by the way, to keep an eye on Gen. Sam Curtis at Helena.

The actual attack by The Union forces seems to have been triggered by the account in the O.R.'s of the Confederate Cavalry Capture of a small Union Steamboat, It may have been on the White River, only two weeks before the Battle of Arkansas Post. Arkansas Post had became a Thorn in the Union's side.

So concidering all this and more it would have been pretty stupid of the Confederates to have stuck those men "out-on-a-limb" begging to be cut off, without expecting it to have been attacked, and preparing the placement of re-enforcements for such an eventuality.