In November and December 1862 the Confederate lines secure enought to hold 500 Union POW were no where near Helena, Ark.

At that particular time the Confederate Front lines were generally in the areas along Bayou Meto and the White River. An established POW Camp would have been probably around Little Rock. The exchange point would have been at a neutral site, probably Napolean, Ark. as prisoner exchanges were usually conducted on steamboats, as indicated in the Hindman papers. The Confederates would not have wanted to allowed the Union Officers conducting the exchange to observe their defenses.