The footnote you cited is apparently correct.

For several years, a researcher who had done an extensive study of the 1st Arkansas Mounted Rifles concluded that the 1st and 2nd Arkansas Mounted Rifles wintered near Huntsville, naming their camp as Cantonment Bee, and convinced many of us of that conclusion. However, more recent and reliable research indicates that the 1st and 2nd Arkansas Mounted Rifles in fact wintered "on the Arkansas River near Fort Smith." That certainly fits with the fact that the Mounted Rifles set up their winter quarters shortly after returning from their campaign in the Indian Territory.