Part II (Chapters 8, 9, 10, and 11) Summary

Chapter 8 begins with reinforcements arriving for the battalion. Ensign William Matthews, very young and very inexperienced, reports to Sharpe. After a brief conversation wherein Matthews mistakes Sharpe for a common soldier he presents his troopers. Sharpe is staggered when the column appears under the charge of Sergeant Hakeswill, the man upon whom he has sworn vengeance. The two enemies immediately recognize each other and Hakeswill attempts to assert himself. Sharpe is shaken and the encounter puts him off balance. He thinks that Hakeswill's appearance bodes poorly for the future. Soon after, Sharpe speaks with Captain Leroy, an American United Empire Loyalist, born in Boston, whose father fought on the British side during the American Revolutionary War. During that war Leroy fled to Canada and then Britain, and joined the military service in c. 1809. He has known Sharpe...