Captain Michel Pailleterie is the secondary antagonist of the Bernard Cornwell short story Sharpe's Skirmish. He is a French officer in 1812.
Biography[]
Captain Pailleterie was a French cavalry officer serving under General Herault, who had command of Herault's old company. He and his company were assigned to go on ahead as part of Herault's plan to raid Spanish territory, in order to capture the fortress at San Miguel, guarding a bridge across the River Tormes, and secure it for Herault's advance.
Pailleterie and his men managed to avoid the Spanish partisans on guard in the surrounding area and approach the river unnoticed by going along the far bank rather than using the road. Captain Richard Sharpe and his men made an attempt to defend the fort, but with the British forces scattered and the defence unco-ordinated, Pailleterie quickly triumphed. However, Sharpe and his men remained at large, and the presence of riflemen in the area meant Pailleterie was forced to take refuge inside the fort.
Pailleterie took Major Tibbs, the commissary officer in overall command of the fort, prisoner without a fight. Tibbs was dismissive of Sharpe, saying he belonged in the gutter and had been brought up from the ranks, only for Pailleterie to pull him up short by revealing he had come up through the ranks as well.
Sharpe then launched a counterattack, forcing Pailleterie and his men out into the open by starting a fire in the fort cellar, where they were vulnerable to attack from the riflemen. Despite taking huge casualties, Pailleterie rallied his men for a hand-to-hand skirmish. However, he was overcome by Sharpe and fell into the river, with his surviving men being put to flight.
With Herault having been captured after trying to charge Sharpe, Pailleterie was left to report the failure to Major Pierre Ducos when he arrived with the main French force to discover British reinforcements lining the other side of the bridge. Ducos warned Pailleterie he would be punished.
