Sometimes, as researchers, we can not see the Forest because of the single tree that is in front of us. Even the reports and communications in the O.R.'s are written by Military Officers to Military Officers. As such, they are only brief outlines of operations which the person to whom the report is addressed already knows most of the details of the situation discussed.

I know that you, and all the other of us, know this. But we all have our own pet projects and interest, and we all still get hungup on the details as if they are the only things that went on in the whole war efforts of both sides. Twenty years ago very few realized that there was a "two front War" being conducted in Arkansas in 1862/63. And no one knew of the activities involved in the defence of the Lower Arkansas River Valley past the Battle of Arkansas Post, which was a major Battle, but only a minor setback to the efforts to defend the Arkansas River. Nor did they realize how important that these activities were to the Confederacy "National War Efforts".

With the advent of this board, and others like it, it has the open discussion of all the so called "amature" researcher advanced the study of the War Between the States in Arkansas. The ability to discuss together the various differing elements of the Local Historians research has the "forest" become more appearent. With those revelations, common sence leads us to a better understanding of why things happened as they did.