Submitted by ekp23@cornell.edu on Fri, 2018-05-18 13:37
The "acquaintance [of Charles Stuart Compson] named Wilkinson" in this text is the historical figure General James Wilkinson. Although Wilkinson served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, and was the first Governor of the Louisiana Territory, he was also a spy for the Spanish government. Markedly unsuccessful as a military leader, he was immensely successful in defending himself against court-martials and other accusations of treason over a career in government that spanned several decades.
Submitted by ekp23@cornell.edu on Thu, 2018-05-17 22:53
The unnamed secessionists with whom Charles Stuart Compson is associated endeavored to "secede the whole Mississippi Valley from the United States and join it to Spain" (327). The plotters are headed by General James Wilkinson, whose real-life attempts to sell land to Spain were backed by a number of prominent Kentuckians.
Submitted by ekp23@cornell.edu on Thu, 2018-05-17 07:20
This architect lays out both the Compson grounds and the Compson home, and shares the predilections of Faulkner's other architect characters for French furnishings.
