Sharpe’s Escape characters

Appears from the start

Captain of the South Essex light company, promoted from the ranks and now an experienced commander in Wellington's army. Sharpe is responsible for enforcing the destruction of supplies during the retreat through Portugal, an unpopular duty whose strategic importance is easy for corrupt officers to conceal.

Appears from the start

Sharpe's Irish sergeant, closest friend, and dependable second in danger. Harper combines strength with common sense and follows Sharpe even when the captain's formal authority over the light company is threatened.

Appears from the start

A veteran marksman among Sharpe's riflemen. Hagman has survived successive campaigns by patience and fieldcraft, and he helps hold together the experienced core of the light company during the retreat.

Appears from the start

An educated rifleman whose observation and languages make him useful beyond shooting. Harris serves in the veteran group around Sharpe and Harper as the army abandons central Portugal to the French advance.

Appears from the start

Colonel of the South Essex and Sharpe's commanding officer. Lawford knows Sharpe's value in battle, but family obligation and the expectations of the officer class complicate his judgment when another captain seeks command of the light company.

First appears in chapter 2

An officer connected to Lawford by marriage who is placed with the South Essex light company. Slingsby presents himself as the gentlemanly alternative to Sharpe, and his claim to command rests more securely on patronage than on the confidence of the soldiers.

Also known as Lord Wellington

First appears in chapter 2

Commander of the allied army. Wellington plans to draw the French deep into a country stripped of food and then stop them at the concealed Lines of Torres Vedras, making destruction of civilian stores a military necessity.

First appears in chapter 4

A Portuguese officer who fought beside Sharpe during Soult's retreat from Oporto. Vicente is now an experienced ally and understands both Wellington's strategy and the cost imposed on Portuguese families ordered to abandon their homes and food.

First appears in chapter 4

A Portuguese army officer whose local status gives him influence over stores and transport. Ferreira outwardly serves the allied retreat, but his commercial interests and family connections make his conduct difficult for Sharpe to trust.

First appears in chapter 5

Ferreira's physically imposing brother and partner in the family's trading interests. Ferragus uses intimidation and private armed power to protect warehouses and transactions from soldiers carrying out Wellington's scorched-earth orders.

First appears in chapter 9

An Englishwoman living in Coimbra who becomes caught in the Ferreira brothers' arrangements as the population evacuates before the French. Sarah's knowledge of the household and city gives her a chance to help prisoners whom official channels have abandoned.

First appears in chapter 10

Marshal of the French army invading Portugal. Masséna commands a force confident that Wellington is retreating toward the sea, but its advance depends on finding food in a country the allies have been ordered to empty.