Norvill, it appears likely that he did, indeed, return to his home. Some members of the 17th Arkansas died at Fort Pillow in late April 1862. Before they were reported dead, they had been carried on the rolls as "absent sick in hospital," whereas Benjamin C. Jones and others were carried on the rolls as "absent on sick furlough." So I think your instincts are right about his returning home to recuperate. It is even possible that he had been left behind when the regiment crossed the Mississippi River, too ill to stand the march.