User blog:LB&SCR/Sailor vs. Soldier: Jack Sparrow vs. Richard Sharpe



Sometimes, that one guy just doesn't fit the normal mold of what a person of that area of employment, whether he is odd and jolly in a cutthroat job, or that one poor guy who somehow wound up in the right place at the wrong time.. like Dr. Samuel Prescott, the Third member of Paul Revere's Ride. Any way... in the lawbreaking corner, we have Captain Jack Sparrow, legendary pirate and cunning drunkard, star of 4 (soon to be 5) Pirates of the Carribean movies. In the Lawkeeping corner, we have Richard Sharpe, a.. to use a modern term, British 'mustang' officer who rose from the ranks to become a British Officer back when only rich people could become Officers, and the protagonist of 19 Novels and 3 Short Stories by Bernard Cornwell. In the battle of Sailor vs. Soldier, will the Sailor with land fighting experience come out on top, or will the Soldier with sea fighting experience pick off the Sailor.

Jack Sparrow
"The problem, is not the problem; the problem is your attitude about the problem."

- Captain Jack Sparrow



The son of the infamous pirate Captain Teague, and born on a ship in the middle of the Indian Ocean in the middle of a hurricane, Captain  Jack Sparrow  was born to be one of the greatest pirates of all time. His enemies may call him a drunk, insane coward, but appearances can be deceiving...Jack always has a plan brewing in his head amidst all the rum, and always finds a way to win. Jack's exploits (although many have doubtless been exaggerated) are many, and he has seen and done almost everything. Captain Sparrow has been victorious against his mutinous undead crew, the ruler of the seas, Davy Jones, the powerful East India Trading Company, and has even come back from the dead. Although it is hard to imagine what Jack will do next, he will doubtless be ready, rum bottle in hand and smile on his face.

Weapons

 * -| Melee =

Cutlass




 * Length: 2 ft
 * Slightly Curved, Single Edge
 * -| Short =

Flintlock Pistol




 * Weight: 3 lbs
 * Cartridge: .42 Lead Ball
 * Range: 25 Yards
 * -| Long =

Brown Bess




 * Weight: 10.5 lbs
 * Length: 58.5 in
 * Cartridge: .68 Lead Ball
 * Fire Rate: 3-4 Rounds per minute
 * Effective Range: 50-100 Yards
 * -| Ship =

The Black Pearl




 * Captain: Jack Sparrow
 * Ship Type: Galleon
 * Speed: Unknown, but when sailing with the wind, the fastest ship in the Carribean
 * Guns: 32 (16 per side; 14 Upper Deck, 18 Lower Deck)

Richard Sharpe


Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Sharpe is the protagonist  of 19 Novels and 3 Short Stories by Bernard Cornwell. The series (chronologically) opens up in India, as Sharpe serves as an infantryman in the British Conquest of India, where he has to disguise himself as a British Deserter to infiltrate the Tippoo Sultan's Army, and not only rescue an intelligence officer, but then deativate a trap meant for the British. He then takes part in the final assault on the last stronghold, saves the life of the future Duke of Wellington, for which he recieves his battlefield commission. The rest of the Novels shift to Europe, where Sharpe takes place in many of the important battles in the Napoleonic Wars, where his first wife also dies, and all of his money is taken away by lawyers as part of his wife's estate. The strangest part of Sharpe's Service comes after he retires, in 1820, Sharpe is living in France when a Spanish Women whose life he had saved many years prior, comes asking for him to find her husband. So, Sharpe, and Patrick Harper (a former enemy now friend), go out to South America, where Sharpe not only gets embroiled in the Chilean War of Independence, but also gets to meet face-to-face with Napoleon.

During the novels, Sharpe's career spans 28 years. Bernard Cornwall took creative liscense by making Sharpe a hero by stealing the thunder of other men, but in this timeline he did commit all these acts. His list of achievements include: disabling a booby trap a Seringapatam (not a historical event), shooting and killing the Tipoo Sultan (alongside stealing his money), saving the life of Sir Arthur Wellesley's life at Assaye, storming the fortress of Gawilghur and opening the fort's gates, disabling the explosives going to destroy the Danish Fleet, being the scout to sigh incoming enemy boats and allowing an ambush to proceed, being the first British Soldier to capture a French Eagle, triggering the massive explosion demolishing Almeida, shooting the Prince of Orange, and commanding the regiment that drove off the French Imperial Guard at Waterloo.

According to the Nathaniel Starbuck Chronicles (another Cornwall Series), Sharpe is the father of Patrick Lassan, a French Calvaryman serving as a Confederate observer. Richard Sharpe is aid to have died on his farm in Normandy, France in 1860.

Weapons

 * -| Melee =

1796 Heavy Calvary Saber




 * Length: 3 feet
 * Straight Blade, Single Edge, Hatchet Point
 * -| Short =

Flintlock Pistol




 * Weight: 5 lbs
 * Catridge: .50 Lead Ball
 * Range: Roughly 25 Yards
 * -| Long =

Baker Infantry Rifle




 * Weight: 9 lbs
 * Length: 46 in
 * Cartridge: .615 Lead Ball
 * Fire Rate: 2-3 rpm
 * Range: 200 Yards
 * -| Ship =

La Pucelle

No Canon Image
 * Captain: Joel Chase (close friend of Sharpe)
 * Ship Type: Captured French 3rd-Rate Ship of the Line
 * Speed: Unknown, but fast enough to be a Raider and Prize-taker
 * Guns: 74 (37 per side; 28 on Main Deck; 30 on Upper Deck; 16 on Forcastle, 4 on Sterncastle)

X-Factors

 * -| Cunning =

Jack Sparrow: 84

Richard Sharpe: 76

Jack Sparrow wins out in this category because being a Pirate, Sparrow is forces to be adept at cunning, deciet, and is a natural born liar. Whether it is giving the authorities the slip, or trying to woo that one lady friend. Richard Sharpe, for all the infiltration and spying he has to do, also scores high in this category, but unlike Sparrow, Richard hasn't been doing it his entire lifetime.


 * -| Firearms Skill =

Jack Sparrow: 75

Richard Sharpe: 83

Jack Sparrow, being a pirate, is no stranger to having to use a firearm to defend himself from other pirates, or even the Royal Navy, but that skill is mostly limited to flintlock pistols, and his experience using a longarm isn't that great. Richard Sharpe on the other hand, is an expert at most small arms of the British Empire, whether it be flintlock pistols, muskets, or (as he is most famous for) the Baker infantry rifle.


 * -| Swordsmanship =

Jack Sparrow: 82

Richard Sharpe: 80

Jack Sparrow, being a pirate, and of course a pirate movie, is going to be an excellent user of swords, mostly the iconic pirate cutlass, for whether it be boarding an enemy vessel, or defending his own vessel and repelling boarders. Richard Sharpe is also an excellent swordfighter in his own right, having fought off hoardes of Marahatta horse cavalry by himself, and his saber is considered by the fans to be his signiture weapon.


 * -| Leadership =

Jack Sparrow: 72

Richard Sharpe: 79

Jack Sparrow is, as a Captain, a some-what competant leader, but what lowers his score is that his crew has mutinied several times and booted him out, but his score is raised as he always manages to worm his way back in to being the ship's captain. Richard Sharpe, basically, was not respected by his fellow officers, because he was promoted from the ranks, and being a commoner, got no respect. He did earn their respect by his hard fighting attitude, and his constant heroics.


 * -| Resourcefulness =

Jack Sparrow: 80

Richard Sharpe: 80

Both Richard Sharpe and Jack Sparrow are experts at quick-thinking and staying ahead of the game. Jack Sparrow uses his cunning and ample deciet abilities to stay ahead and trick his opponents. Richard Sharpe, while more of a blunt instrument, used his experience that other officers didn't have (that of an enlisted infantryman) to his advantage, and also his background as an urchin in the London Rookeries.