Shiloh, Tennessee (Location Key)

Shiloh, located in southwestern Tennessee, was the location of a major battle during the Civil War. Faulkner's fiction calls it both 'Shiloh,' as the battle was called in the North, and 'Pittsburg Landing,' as it was known in the South. The fighting took place on April 6-7th, 1862; by the end of what Absalom, Absalom! calls "the second day and the lost battle" (275), casualties on both sides totaled 23,746. In that novel General Compson lost an arm there, and in one of the novel's many unresolved narrative questions, either Henry helped save the wounded Bon (217), or Bon rescued the wounded Henry (275). In The Unvanquished, Drusilla's fiancé, Gavin Breckbridge, died in the battle. To the account in Absalom!, the "Appendix" that Faulkner wrote for The Sound and the Fury adds that General Compson "failed" at the battle - but it does not say how (329).