Who is Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill from Sharpe's Tiger and what is their importance?

Sergeant Obadiah Hakeswill is one of Sharpe's primary antagonists and his immediate commander. Hakeswill passionately dislikes Sharpe and wants to see the private flogged to death. Hakeswill's face has a constant twitch that erupts into contortions when he is upset or under pressure. He first tries to entrap Sharpe by switching his musket flint for an ordinary stone, but this attempt fails. Hakeswill later succeeds in goading Sharpe into a fight that is witnessed by an officer and ensign, but Sharpe does not realize this until after the fight. To Hakeswill's delight, Sharpe is sentenced to a two-thousand stroke flogging.