Strangely enough, Stephen Mallory himself states, in his report to President Davis, dated August 16, 1862, that "Upon the abandonment of Island No. 10 Commander Pinkney, the senior naval officer in command, sent to the Arkansas and White Rivers the steamers MAUREPAS and PONTCHARTRAIN, under command of Lieutenants Fry and Dunnington..." [ORN 2, 2, 242.]
If his subordinate officers were passing him incorrect and misleading information, which was then forwarded to the President, then they should have been severely reprimanded. I would assume that all information had to be thoroughly vetted before being passed on to seniors.