Sharpe's Skirmish
"Sharpe's Skirmish" is a historical short story by Bernard Cornwell in the Richard Sharpe series. "Sharpe's Skirmish" was first written in 1998. British bookseller W. H. Smith devised the idea of giving away a Sharpe short story with every copy of "Sharpe's Fortress". This irritated other publishers, and only a few thousand copies were printed. Much later, Cornwell revised the story, which was published by the Sharpe Appreciation Society. Plot. This short story occurs after "Sharpe's Sword" in the summer of 1812. Sharpe and his men escort commissary Major Tubbs to an abandoned  Spanish fort where a cache of thousands of muskets has been forgotten in the general French retreat in northern Spain. Unbeknownst to the British, French Major Ducos has authorised a surprise raid to threaten the Duke of Wellington's supply lines and hopefully delay the British pursuit long enough for the French to regroup. To accomplish this, the French first need to secure the fort, which guards a bridge across the Tormes River. However, Sharpe stands in the way, and for the first (but by no means last) time thwarts a scheme involving Ducos. Allusions to actual history, geography and  current science. References are made to incidents during the Peninsular War and the Siege of Gawilghur. Lieutenant General Wellington was based on the real historical figure of the same name with limited dramatic licence taken.