Sharpe's Eagle (1981)

Sharpe's Eagle is a historical novel in the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell, first published in 1981. The story is set in July 1809, in the midst of the Talavera Campaign during the Peninsular War. It was the first Sharpe novel published, but eighth in the series' chronological order.

In subsequent re-publications, Sharpe's Rifles was numbered as the "first" novel in the original series (ending with Sharpe's Waterloo), while Eagle was numbered as the second.

Plot summary

It is July 1809. During the Talavera Campaign, Sir Arthur Wellesley's army has entered Spain to confront Marshal Victor. Richard Sharpe and his small group of thirty riflemen, separated from their regiment during the retreat from Corunna, are attached to the newly arrived South Essex Regiment. Commanded by the cowardly and bullying Lieutenant Colonel Sir Henry Simmerson, the South Essex is a raw, inexperienced unit that Simmerson has drilled mercilessly with frequent use of the lash.

Sharpe takes it upon himself to shape the inexperienced and poorly trained redcoats into soldiers. He comes into conflict with Simmerson; his nephew, the arrogant Lieutenant Christian Gibbons; and Christian's friend, Lieutenant John Berry. The situation is further complicated by the rivalry that emerges between Sharpe and Gibbons for the affections of Josefina Lacosta, a Portuguese noblewoman who ran away from her husband after he took a mistress. Only two of the South Essex officers appear to have any real experience: Captain Lennox, a veteran of the 78th Highlanders' action at the Battle of Assaye, where Sharpe himself won his commission; and Captain Thomas Leroy, an American Loyalist who was forced to flee his homeland after the American War of Independence.

From Talavera, General Wellesley dispatches the South Essex, alongside Sharpe's riflemen and Major Michael Hogan's engineers, to blow up the bridge at Valdelacasa, so as to protect the army's flank as they march. To placate the Spanish, Wellesley is forced to send a Spanish regiment, the Regimento de la Santa Maria, as well. The seemingly straightforward mission becomes a disaster when both Simmerson and the Spanish unnecessarily cross the bridge due to pride, and then try to engage four squadrons of French dragoons. Due to a combination of arrogance, poor training and incompetence, the two regiments are routed by the French, with hundreds of men killed and wounded, Lennox fatally wounded, and the loss of the King's Colours. Sharpe, however, distinguishes himself during the skirmish by saving the South Essex's own colours and capturing a French cannon. As a dying request, Lennox asks Sharpe to take a French Imperial Eagle, "touched by the hand of Napoleon" himself, so as to erase the shame of losing the King's Colours.

Wellesley has Sharpe gazetted captain, and berates Simmerson for his bad leadership. In an attempt to shift the blame for the fiasco, Sir Henry tries to make Sharpe a scapegoat and intends on ruining Sharpe's career via his connections at Horse Guards. Sharpe concludes that only by capturing an Eagle can he shield himself from Simmerson's schemes. He also makes enemies of Gibbons and Berry when Josefina falls out with Gibbons, and Sharpe takes her under his protection. They become lovers, although Sharpe is forced to accept sizable loans offered him by Hogan in order to keep Josefina in the manner she is used to. Later, after Josefina is beaten and raped by Gibbons and Berry, Sharpe swears vengeance. He murders Berry during a night-time skirmish against the French.

At the height of the Battle of Talavera, Simmerson panics at the approach of a French column, and orders the South Essex to withdraw, despite direct orders from the British 2nd Division commander, General "Daddy" Hill, opening a gap in the lines. Sharpe desperately deploys his men to delay the French from exploiting it.

Sharpe's old friend, Lieutenant Colonel William Lawford, is sent to relieve Simmerson of command. Lawford orders the South Essex back into position, where their volleys help destroy the column's cohesion. Sharpe leads the Light Company and his rifles into the fray and captures an Eagle with help of his best friend, Sergeant Harper. Returning from the battlefield, Sharpe is ambushed by Gibbons, who attempts to murder Sharpe and take the Eagle for himself, but is killed by Harper. The capture of the Eagle restores the honour of the South Essex, but Sharpe's triumph is soured somewhat by Josefina's return to Lisbon with wealthy British cavalry Captain Claud Hardy.

Over a celebratory dinner, Wellesley bitterly informs his staff officers that, although the battle was won, the campaign will be accounted a failure, since the Spanish General Cuesta has blundered badly, and the promised provisions to feed the army are nowhere to be found, forcing the British to retreat back to Portugal. Wellesley promises that the British will return to Spain, but on their own terms. To Sharpe's surprise and embarrassment, Wellesley concludes his speech by proposing a toast to "Sharpe's Eagle." (This begins Cornwell's practice, in nearly all the Sharpe novels, of ending a book with the use of its title.)

Characters

Fictional

Richard Sharpe

Patrick Harper – an Irish sergeant in the British Army, Sharpe's close friend and ally

Captain Michael Hogan (Major in the TV adaptation) – British Army officer, engineer

Captain Lennox (Major in the TV adaptation)

Sir Henry Simmerson

Christian Gibbons

William Lawford

Thomas Leroy

Josefina LaCosta

Historical

Sir Arthur Wellesley – commander of the British expeditionary force

General Sir Rowland "Daddy" Hill

Gregorio García de la Cuesta (mentioned only) – commander of the Spanish force allied with Wellesley's army

Sir Banastre Tarleton (mentioned only) – Simmerson's cousin, now a high-ranking member of the Horse Guards