Nairn

Major-General Nairn (Major Nairn in the series) is a supporting character in the Sharpe novels by Bernard Cornwell and their television adaptations.
He was portrayed by Michael Byrne.
==Biography==
===Novels===
Major-General Nairn was the officer left in charge of the British army headquarters at Frenada in the winter of 1812, during Lord Wellington's absence. Despite this, he had little authority over the army, only commanding the headquarters staff. He considered himself agnostic, pouring scorn on an order from the archbishop to stop the spread of methodism. He informed Captain Richard Sharpe he had been promoted to major and later sent Sharpe and Sergeant Patrick Harper to deliver a ransom to a deserters' enclave at Adradas who were holding a number of hostages. He later authorised Sharpe to go in and secure the hostages prior to a larger force capturing Adradas. When Wellington heard of a French build-up on the Spanish/Portuguese border, Nairn chose to take an army to reinforce Sharpe, helping turn the French back.
The following year, Nairn sent Sharpe and some of his battalion to England to investigate claims that the South Essex's second battalion had no reinforcements to send them despite sending out recruiting parties. As the war drew to a close in 1814, Nairn was given command of a brigade and made Sharpe his chief of staff. He led the brigade at Toulouse, where he was injured by shrapnel but told Sharpe it was just his leg and sent him ahead. After the battle, Sharpe learned the shrapnel had actually penetrated Nairn's lung and he had died of his wounds.
===Television===
Major Nairn encountered Captain Sharpe in the aftermath of the capture of Ciudad Rodrigo, with Sharpe critical of Nairn's engineers' role in the assault. Nairn was working as a spymaster for Wellington and employed Sharpe's lover Teresa Moreno to feed him information on Badajoz, the next British target. He refused Sharpe's request to command a forlorn hope in the attack, indicating he was of use to them.
Nairn later consulted with Sharpe, Teresa and Wellington about the deserters' enclave at Adradas and the presence of French spymaster Major Pierre Ducos, who Nairn suspected was scouting out the area for a French attack. While Sharpe captured Adradas, Nairn spied on the French lines with Teresa, who he took to Sharpe when she was fatally injured by renegade Obadiah Hakeswill. He later saw Sharpe refuse to surrender to Ducos.
Nairn broke up Sharpe's duel with the Spanish nobleman La Marques de Casares el Grande y Melida Sadaba and, when Sharpe was framed for the Marques' murder, faked his execution in order to send him and Harper undercover to expose another plot of Ducos'. He was last seen with Wellington in the aftermath of the British victory at Vitoria.
Category:Book Heroes
Category:TV Show Heroes
Category:Male
Category:Military
Category:Mentors
Category:Type Dependent on Version
Category:Deceased
Category:Inconclusive
Category:Status Dependent on Version
Category:Right-Hand
Category:Successors
Category:Successful