The main reason that the Arkansas and Texas troops were retained in my mind is the political arguing going on between Richmond and Govenor Henry Rector over the transferring of any troops from the Trans Mississippi Department east of the Mississippi. Calling to mind all the uproar when Van Dorn took the entire Confederate army to Tennessee and abandoning Arkansas to Sam Curtis. And the troubles to raise another army which the authorities almost immediately made request after request for another division of reinforcements from these new troops. It was quite a struggle for Parson's Brigade of Missouri Troops to be transferred back to Arkansas in August 1862 and mostly because of Parson and his men and the Confederate Governor of Missouri demanded their return.

In point of fact it was by continuely complaining that the troops were needed in Arkansas that Hindman and Holmes were able to keep those troops in Arkansas at all. This is one reason that I think that Hindman was replaced by Holmes. I believe that Richmond thought that Holmes being a general in the eastern theater, would tranfere the troops to the east faster. In fact Garland's Brigade (6th Texas Inf, 24th and 25th Tex. Cav. Dismounted) along with 4 other regiments of Texans to be raised had already been ordered to Mississippi prior to the attack on Arkansas Post.

So in fact the exchanged Arkansas and Texas boys actually fulfilled that order for those troops.