Patrick Harper
Regimental Sergeant Major · The Giant from Donegal
Who Is Patrick Harper?
Patrick Harper is the most beloved character in the Sharpe series after Sharpe himself. From Donegal in the west of Ireland, he stands six feet four inches tall, is immensely strong, deeply Catholic, fiercely loyal, and possessed of a singing voice that could charm birds from trees. He carries a crucifix under his jacket and a seven-barrelled volley gun over his shoulder. He is the second most dangerous man in any room Sharpe enters, and often the first.
First Meeting with Sharpe
Harper first appears in Sharpe’s Rifles during the disastrous retreat to Corunna in the winter of 1809. When the company’s captain is killed, Sharpe takes command of a group of riflemen who despise him: an officer from the ranks, with no money, no breeding, and no right to command them. Harper leads the near-mutiny against Sharpe.
Over the course of the novel, their relationship transforms. Harper recognises that Sharpe is the real thing: a fighter, a leader, a man who will keep them alive when a gentleman officer would get them killed. By the end of Sharpe’s Rifles, the big Irishman has become Sharpe’s closest friend, a bond that will last through twenty years of war and beyond.
The Seven-Barrelled Volley Gun
Harper’s signature weapon is a seven-barrelled Nock volley gun, originally designed as a naval boarding weapon. It fires seven barrels simultaneously, producing a devastating blast at close range. The recoil is enormous and the weapon is almost impossible for a normal man to fire from the shoulder. Harper, being anything but normal, fires it with casual ease. The gun becomes as iconic as Harper himself.
The Peninsular War
Harper serves as Sharpe’s right hand throughout the Peninsular campaign. He is promoted from private to sergeant early in the series and eventually to Regimental Sergeant Major. His courage is never in question. His strength is legendary. But his greatest quality is his judgement: he reads men better than Sharpe does, and his counsel, given quietly and without ceremony, saves Sharpe’s life more than once.
Isabella
Harper marries Isabella, a Spanish woman he meets during the Peninsular campaign. She follows the army throughout the later novels, devoted to Harper. After the wars they return to Ireland together. Their relationship is one of the warmest in the series, a counterpoint to the turbulence of Sharpe’s own romantic life.
Waterloo
Harper was discharged from the army in 1814 with Wellington’s own signature on his discharge papers. When Napoleon escapes from Elba and war returns, Harper comes to Belgium as a civilian horse trader. Everyone knows the real reason: he cannot let Sharpe fight Waterloo alone. He joins the battle as a civilian volunteer, armed with his volley gun, and fights alongside Sharpe through the bloodiest day of the wars.
It is at Waterloo that Hagman is killed, the best shot among the chosen men, and Harris dies trying to save him. Harper carries the grief of their deaths alongside the relief of survival.
After the Wars
Harper returns to Ireland with Isabella. In Sharpe’s Devil he travels with Sharpe to Chile for the final adventure: the search for the missing Don Blas Vivar. The two old soldiers, grey now but still lethal, sail to South America and encounter Napoleon on St Helena. It is the last journey of the greatest partnership in historical fiction.
Harper in the TV Series
Daragh O’Malley played Patrick Harper across all sixteen ITV television films from 1993 to 2008. The chemistry between O’Malley and Sean Bean is widely considered the heart of the TV series. O’Malley’s Harper is warmer, funnier and more openly emotional than the novel version, but the core of the character, the loyalty, the strength, the unshakeable friendship, is the same.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Patrick Harper?
Patrick Harper is Sharpe's closest friend and companion throughout the series. An Irish sergeant from Donegal, immensely strong and armed with a seven-barrelled volley gun.
What weapon does Harper carry?
A seven-barrelled Nock volley gun, a naval boarding weapon that fires seven barrels simultaneously.
Where is Harper from?
Donegal in Ireland. He is Catholic and carries a crucifix under his jacket.
Does Harper survive the Sharpe series?
Yes. Harper survives the wars, returns to Ireland with Isabella, and joins Sharpe for a final adventure in Chile.
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