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Sharpe's Justice

Epilogue

Historical Note

By the Fall of 1814, England was full of soldiers and sailors returned from serving the country. Many who were on half pay would have gladly taken Sharpe’s assignment to the Scarsdale Yeomanry to remain active. The common soldier or sailor was not so lucky. Many returned to find there was no work or what was available was at very poor wages.

The massacre at Keighley is based on the real Peterloo Massacre of 1819. While the time does not match, it was only a few years later that the conditions of the workers led to civil unrest such that yeomanry had to intercede to break up the demonstration. It had been more than thirty years since Sharpe’s mother was killed in similar riots in London. As Sharpe was made an orphan in those earlier riots and Keighley was where he fled to from London and away from to the army, his dealing with the riot brings him full circle with his life in England.

Times were hard and continued to be for a very long time. By the mid-eighteenth century, Britain had experienced civil unrest from the working class. At the same time, the Methodist movement was starting. The Methodists contributed several things to the labour movements that would build into the late nineteenth.

Methodists were organized into classes of twelve to thirteen members. Their duties included to contribute a penny a week to be used to help the poor and needy. Their founder John Wesley set an example for them by working until he died for the disadvantaged, collecting money, food and clothing and campaigning for better working conditions in first the mines, but also the mills. As Britain had no public schools, the church schools provided opportunities for the uneducated to learn how to read and write. As these members became literate, they became more involved with righting social wrongs.

These methods had established Methodist “churches” in Halifax, Shipley and Skipton in the early 1800’s. It is possible that Matthew Truman and Sally Bunting could have been influenced by them. However, the unfair conditions that they and others protested would take many more years to correct. The Rev. Jabez Bunting was a significant leader of the church. Sally could have been related and been a member of his class. The growth of many unions in the 1830’s was led by Methodists. Ned Cowey, a Primitive Methodist local preacher, was the first president of the Yorkshire Mineworkers Federation.

In 1854, Charles Dickens was writing describing the plight of the working class in his novel Hard Times. It would take until the twentieth century for the Labour Party to form and significantly address the unfairness of working conditions.

No other battalion was structured that way. As the army experience had shown in the Peninsula and France, skirmish troops can make a difference. The French used their regiments in column. The skirmishers weakened the attacking columns before they reached the deadly British two-deep lines. When the British attacked, the light companies and riflemen often led the way, particularly in the sieges.

In the Americas, the armies of the United States did not fight as the Europeans. The British did not face columns. The “Yankee Doodles” fought with their own skirmishers. Except in Canada, where the Americans were the attackers, the Americans defended from behind walls and barricades.

The 7/60th Foot actually did exist. It was raised on September 1, 1813 on the Island of Guernsey. The rank and file came from German and Swiss former POW’s who were offered freedom in exchange for their commitment to serve. The officers and some NCO’s came from British regiments. The typical ten companies were organized into eight companies of eighty men each, armed with muskets, and two companies of 100 men each, armed with rifles, and all trained as light infantry. It is not clear why, although it may have been to test how a battalion made up of men who were trained together to use the best features of the musket and rifle based on the way that the Light Division troops fought. We could inject that they were designed to emulate what Sharpe had been doing with the South Essex. It would have been interesting to see how Sharpe could have led them from his experience.

For the second time within a year, Sharpe has again cleared his name. It is time to return to France and Lucille to start their family together. He will soon have a child.

But, while Sharpe celebrates the birth of his son, Henri-Patrick Lassan, Napoleon will return to France. By the end of February, he has set sail in the brig Inconstant and has landed at Golfe-Juan on March 1. The Hundred Days that will end at Waterloo have begun.

As Napoleon makes his way north to Paris, word spreads. Many of Lucille and Sharpe’s neighbors celebrate his return. As Sharpe is English, Lucille worries that their neighbors may threaten Richard and their family. Sharpe cares for her worries and arranges for them to flee to Dublin where they may stay with Patrick Harper’s family.

England will need all the experienced soldiers they can find to once again confront Napoleon. Wellington is in Belgium to assemble a new allied army of British, Dutch, Belgians, Hanoverians and Brunswickers.

Before Sharpe can contemplate retiring from his commission, he is sent orders to report to British army headquarters in Brussels. Strangely, the orders come from the commander of the Dutch Army. They want him as a Lieutenant Colonel! He will leave Lucille and Henri-Patrick safely with Isabella.

Harper has had enough of the army, but as a “gentleman” horse trader he sees opportunity to sell some horses. Together they start the journey again to war. So, Harper and Sharpe will march together again.

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