Sharpe’s Fortress characters

Appears from the start

A newly commissioned ensign who has spent his adult life in the ranks. Sharpe earned his promotion by saving Arthur Wellesley at Assaye, but he has little money, no gentleman's education, and no instinct for the customs of an officers' mess. He must learn how to command men who recently regarded him as one of their own.

Appears from the start

A renegade British officer who escaped the defeat at Assaye after killing Hector McCandless. Dodd serves the Maratha cause because it rewards his ambition and now looks to the mountain fortress of Gawilghur as a position from which he can survive the British advance.

Appears from the start

A former sergeant who, like Sharpe, has received a commission from the ranks. Garrard understands the isolation and practical difficulties Sharpe faces among gentlemen and offers advice grounded in experience rather than social convention.

Also known as Sir Arthur Wellesley

First appears in chapter 2

The British commander who gave Sharpe a battlefield commission after Assaye. Wellesley expects competence to justify the unusual promotion and continues the campaign against the remaining Maratha strongholds with his characteristic speed and close attention to supply.

First appears in chapter 3

The officer responsible for part of the army's transport and supplies. Torrance treats his post as an opportunity for comfort and private profit, relying on paperwork, subordinates, and his social position to keep scrutiny away from his arrangements.

First appears in chapter 3

Sharpe's longtime enemy, now operating amid the army's transport organization. Hakeswill has survived every earlier attempt to stop him and remains obsessed with Sharpe's hidden wealth as well as with destroying the former private who has risen above him.

First appears in chapter 4

A British engineer and practical friend to Sharpe. Stokes studies the defenses of Gawilghur and understands that courage alone will not take a fortress whose walls and approaches have been shaped by steep mountain terrain.

First appears in chapter 4

A senior Maratha commander continuing resistance after Assaye. Bappoo gathers troops and protects the approaches to the remaining fortresses while trying to preserve an army under sustained British pressure.

First appears in chapter 7

The commander associated with Gawilghur's defense. Beny Singh has confidence in a fortress protected by high walls, separate strongholds, and ground that appears to make a successful assault impossible.

First appears in chapter 9

A British officer involved in the assault preparations at Gawilghur. Kenny is prepared to lead soldiers into the fortress at the point where engineering judgment and determined infantry must turn a breach into an entry.