he actually appears in five of the books and rises to replace Simmerson as the commander of the South Essex, but for script reasons he is absent from all but one episode. at least in the show he gets the girl!
@@simonlaw9234 it isnt that strange when you consider the prejudices of the period and those that Sharpe held. Assuming him to be a slave profiteer and a whole host of other things given his place, his wealth and his background. Sharpe wasn't immune from bias.
@@patrickkelly3486 GENTLEMAN Jack Daniels. Not normal Jack. Gentleman Jack Daniels, silver label ... is smooth enough you can drink it straight, or if you put a fifth in some cola? You won't even taste it.
@@cressingham6903 William Howe De Lancey was Wellington's aide and the highest ranking American at Waterloo. He unfortunately didn't make it out alive, being struck by a cannonball and dying just after the battle. He was in fact, a childhood friend of Wellington who he mourned. As for other Americans about 25,000 of them served during the Napoleonic Wars, though never mixed with British, Irish or Hanoverian units as depicted in Sharpe. Even the fictitious 60th crack company of American Rifles led by Fredrickson doesn't have many Americans in it and is dominated by Germans. Taylor is the only American left.
Leroy was a decent fellow BUT always with the less than respect able "Slaves molasses and cotton" thing to remind us of his ethically compromised background. An amazingly well written series.
Leroy made his fortune like many people did at the time in the Triangle Trade going on between Africa, the Americas and Great Britain. Investing in a ship, (and taking the risk of ruin if it was lost) could make someone immensely rich as at each stop should the ship make it. It wasn't long after this an international treaty was signed by the world's powers to stop the slave trade by using their navies off of the coast of Africa with authorization to destroy slave ships trying to make a run.
Actually, the way he keeps reminding you of the "slaves, cotton and molasses", he's telling Sharpe "I'm not a good person, I'm not worthy of thanks, nor of respect". It tells you something about him. He's not proud of how his money was made.
The book Leroy was from a loyalist family of traders in Boston and not slavers. The movie producers made him a cigar chomping Virginian slaver for some reason.
Ethics tend to be fluid depending on the time and place, what we perceive as strange or abhorrent can be normal if not respectable in other cultures. We find the slave trade to be monstrous now but then it was a legal and in some places respectable business.
Considering how the opportunity would be used today - I really appreciate the gentleman in Leroy's depiction. Not some brute or fool from the colonies but in many situations a genuinely good man. Though [self] aware of his fortune's source, all the same..
@@thunberbolttwo3953 his family sold everything, the slaves, the cotton and the molasses became the foundation of their fortune in Britain. As the Revolutionary War ended in the 1780s it was safe to say Captain Leroy never owned a slave in his own name.
@@SantomPh While the trading of slaves was abolished in 1807 with in the empire, the practice of slavery itself continued in Canada among the European colonists and First Nation peoples until 1833 when the practice was completely abolished by parliament via the enactment of The Slavery Abolition Act which became effective on August 1, 1834. He could have fled with his slaves but would have had to free them come 1834.
captain Leroy is in my opinion a very well written example how a good character can be influenced by his upbringing and time period. While he shows having a good heart, a genuine care for his men and no disrespect for how somebody reached his position (even admiring sharpe's way of merit) he doesn't question the way he got his own position, by slave labour. We can't help to sympathize with his inner character yet every sane person would condone some of his other actions.
@Paul Thomas Johnson Being a middle man does make it better, because either you do it or someone else will certainly do it. It doesn't excuse the act, but it does mean that nothing would have changed regardless. Leroy/Le Roy was at the very least a compassionate man (as far as we've seen in the show) for normal, low ranking soldiers and while he uttered it as "I don't condone flogging of white men", it still means he holds some respect for everyday plebs. We don't know how much he actually tolerated flogging of slaves, only that he did do the trading - but never owning. The trade was already done the moment they were caught in Africa.. by African warlords and kings themselves, no less. In those times you either were rich and did nothing (or it was already laid out for you) or you made a fortune DOING something. The moment you stopped doing your job there was no safety net. Not even the elite and wealthy fallen on bad times had help from their peers. If he had not done the slave trade, a perfectly legitimate job at the time (different times), someone else would and maybe they would have been far worse than Leroy ever was.. if he even was bad to begin with. That level of self sacrificial behavior he had doesn't just appear over night -- as he rode over a bridge he knew he could not return over safely into a battle they had no idea how would end up. All in order to help Sharpe, Lennox, Ensigns and regular soldiers where he had nothing to really gain from it.
@@Catonzo for the time slave trading wasn't considered evil since the Romans. Now with our perceptions changing we see it as evil. Thats why myself and others disagree with the removal of history, we can't judge them by our standards and if we don't learn from it we are doomed to repeat it. Now as for his sense of duty, its a quality that many wish to have but dont know if they do until that moment. Leroy had his moment and in my eyes passed it with honor
@@Catonzo And Leroy being the scion of a Virginia Loyalist family that likely lost EVERYTHING about 25 years earlier, when the Captain was just a boy, in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War. IDK what funds Leroy had access to, but it's obvious that he's built back his fortune, just not in America.
@@kapitan19969838 in the books he eventually becomes the colonel of the South Essex, and is killed leading a charge at the battle of Vitoria if I remember right, which is the last major battle of the peninsula war
@@kapitan19969838 Leroy is disconnected from his home. He also rises to command the battalion and is Sharpes CO in most of the books until Sharpes Regiment where he is killed in action. A lot of the TV characters are only in 1 episode but are in many of the books. Rifleman Taylor is another American and serving captain Fredicksons company of the 60th. He is mentioned once in Sharpes Enemy, doesn’t speak and you have no idea he’s American. In the books he turns up in every novel Fredickson is in until 1814 when He’s allowed to desert by his officers and get on a ship to the US.
Lunarmix, You can hear the self-mockery--almost self-hatred--in Leroy's voice when he says "Slaves, cotton and molasses." He knows he hasn't earned any of his rich, easy life, so now he's in the army looking for self-respect, honor and a hero. He finds it in Sharpe, the underdog with his own brand of honor, and works hard to earn Sharpe's respect without stepping on Sharpe's touchy pride.
@@EzekielDeLaCroix you act like it was a normalized concept in the mind of every contemporary of that time. It wasn't. There were plenty of abolitionists and opposition to slavery.
@@EzekielDeLaCroix Leroy is full of self loathing and sadness of his own; he has a purchased rank with very little to show for it given Simmerson's incompetence. He is actually a good officer who deserves more than Simmerson as a leader. Meeting Sharpe lit a small flame in him- he does eventually rise to Lt Colonel and commands the South Essex before it becomes the POWOV (in the books) He repeats the "slaves, cotton and molasses" line and alludes to Simmerson's line about "ample means to console himself" .
He got his money from his family, who sold off all their stuff pretty much before booking it from Virginia back to England. Remember that this is what, the early 1800s? The guy was a kid during the Revolutionary War time if not younger.
Whatever happened to Leroy? Even as he remained loyal to England he is still an exemplary example of what an American Gentleman should be. Hell we could use some of that attitude today, Lord Knows.
he continues in the South Essex, where he takes part in the Siege of Badajoz alongside Sharpe and the Rifles. He gets promoted to Lt Colonel in Sharpe's Honour and becomes a brigade commander. Unfortunately he is killed in his first battle as commander, even losing his trademark cigar.
Leroy's statement about 'slaves, cotton, and molasses" is his way of playfully telling Sharpe that he has far more money than Simmerson would ever think about, and beyond that, he doesn't really care about the patronage that Simmerson holds.
Leroy and Sharpe, both Officers and Gentlemen cut from the finest of hearts, minds and souls... that’s the way to do it lads..... Real Men worthy of Respect ✊ ....... That clip should be compulsory viewing globally on how Gentlemen should behave towards girls in general - (and how thugs, scoundrels and swine lose their names and honour).
For those making the 006/007 connection, you might be interested that Gavan O'Herlihy (who played Leroy) also had a part in the (unofficial) Bond film "Never Say Never Again" as the pilot brother of Kim Basinger's character.
even with the legal fuckfest surrounding it, it's not an unofficial bond film. connery is playing bond. it might be missing some of the classic eon bond tropes, but it's still bond
Captain Leroy is a Tory but a damn good man. And I'll be damned if Dick Sharpe from the novels doesn't make me wish I was English and born a couple of hundred years earlier.
I dunno if thousands of men dying in the fields of Europe, red coats, muskets and a frankly horrific class divide are ''good old days'' nor am I sure they'll return thanks to Brexit but each to their own...
All these people calling Leroy less for the way he has his money. He doesn’t own slaves, his family might have, but I doubt he was old enough to even remember them let alone have had ownership of any given the time. Certainly doesn’t own them anymore, as per English law at the time it was illegal.
@@FranklinsLighthouse no he doesnt. Hes a loyalist meaning he was expelled from the states. His family sold their assets including the slaves, in the united kingdom slavery was banned by this point. Given its 25 or so years on from the revolution its evident he never owned a slave
stewart vs somerset. The legal precedent for owning slaves in britian was never illegal but required a proof positive law that enables it. Kinda weird but it's not AGAINST the law there's just was never (and never will be) a law stating you CAN own slaves.
This takes place in 1809-1811, Leroy is a loyalist from Virginia where his family is still implanted and wealthy. Although it is stupid of him to say cotton, because in 1809, cotton was not a cash crop, Tobacco was the cash crop for slave plantations, and makes more sense as cotton wont grow in most of Virginia as it requires a more tropical and stable environment. Cotton didnt become the cash crop of the south until AFTER the invention of the cotton gin.
Richie Cunninham's older brother in Happy Days, Fraker, Paul Kersey's would be nemesis in Death Wish 3, Airk in Willow, and the murderous Dan Suggs in Lonesome Dove to name a few. And the Irish national tennis champion at one time.
@@JnEricsonx There's no way you could know, but my friends call me Stumpy - on account of my other arm having been cut off.:) Seriously, Brian Cox elevates anything he is in. If I had cable, I'd check out 'Succession".
Leroy... I've heard the American pronunciation - LEE-roy - for so long, I've forgotten the origin. Leroy... Le Roi... a lot of French aristocrats settled in the American South
It's not actually for sure that he owned slaves, although at the time it would have been likely. When he says "slaves, cotton, molasses" he's not talking about the things HE personally traded but the Triangle trade from Africa, the colonies, and the Caribbean. Slaves were brought from Africa to the colonies and the Caribbean, cotton/tobacco was put on the same ships and finally those ships would often pick up molasses and travel back to Britain.
The army has quite strict rules on junior officers assaulting their superiors. Nowt to stop him stepping up behind him with a pistol in the middle of a battle though.
So ...I haven't had the pleasure of watching this series....but I plan to remedy that as soon as I find out what streaming series carries this. Seems to me that Capt Leroy is a good officer after all.
Strictly no, they both owe gratitude to him, but strictly speaking leroy lent money to sharpe, and sharpe lent money to her; Leroy wouldnt be able to come after her for the debt
So much is said about Leroy. He seems to be a nice person and prepared to accept Sharpe. He knows what it is to be an outsider This family had money...yes. They had been forced to leave USA after revolution after his dad picked the losing side. Owning g slaves now? .... I don't think so. One point, slave owning families had members who didn't support slavery. That was one way families were torn apart in the civil war. We never hear him comment whether for against. Though he is horrified at the thought of floggings. In lending Sharpe money, he was supporting Sharpe. I believe he liked Sharpe. Was concerned at how younger men/boys looked up at him and took same risks, even warned Denny to stay clear of idol worshipping Sharpe. Does mean Leroy wouldn't support him and respect him. In the books he covers for Sharpe a lot as he goes up the ranks. Naturally there's times, like with Wellington, when Sharpe gets a bit too hot headed or risk taking. But Leroy is trying to keep him out of trouble. Lastly Leroy would have been constantly reminded of his roots and how he doesn't fit in. He's not a gentleman. But a colonial. Sure he has money. But they look down on him. Saying "Slaves, molasses and cotton" seems his way of saying "yeah I'm a bastard" as Sharpe would say of himself. Literally, "Yeah yeah I know what you think," Sharpe carries a bias against people with money so sometimes must forget Leroy's background. He seems to grow out of it in the books.
Hmmm, Sharpe and the lady didn't even bother to look in the pouch that Leroy handed over to see what was in it. It could have had gravel, or glass beads, or copper, or silver, or gold.
The amount of smoke generated by firearms of the era necessitated the use of bright colored uniforms to distinguish who was who on the battlefield. Sharpe and his men were skirmishers who conducted scouting and flanking. The nature of their missions allowed them to wear darker colors.
Bizarre nothing!!!!, Those uniforms are resplendent. Style is something much lacking in most modern uniforms with the exception of a few European dress Uniforms
It'd be £50,000 in today's money. Back then, money had actual value and wasn't the token it is today. Things weren't cheaper back then-- it's just that currency has become less valuable. People back then treated a silver dollar like how we treat a $20 bill today. The kicker is, there's about $15-$17 (in today's money) worth of silver in such a coin, so the value isn't all that different.
Sorry to say, but I’ve had to look up what Molasses are. The word comes from the Portuguese and ancient Greek words for Honey. It’s the black treacle of refined sugar. “Slaves, cotton and molasses”. 🍯
As a history fan my ONLY wish was that Leroy's accent was not *so* Southern. The Southern Accent the world i\s familiar with had not fully formed until about the time of the Civil War and was mostly the 'lower' classes in the USA. The upper-classes still maintained their 'mother' accents: Scotch, Irish, and English, whereas the Northerners had a decidedly continental Germanic 'twang' to theirs. It truly does work for the show though showing he is 100% American rather than raised in England or other such things, but a more accurate portrayal of American accents up to the 1830s or so would be the 'John Adams' series on HBO where even Thomas Jefferson almost sounds Scotch-Irish. (For those interested.)
@@mikegrossberg8624 Hi, uh... Absolutely not. Wrong. idc if you are Scottish or claim Scottish ancestry, the rights to language and words is not genetic. While 'scotch' might be old fashioned in reference to referring to the culture or customs of Scotland it is entirely accurate. Please do more research. The people can be Scottish, or Scots depending on grammatical usage but 'Scotch' is in reference to the culture or peculiarities from that culture. Such as a 'Scotch Egg', which contains absolutely 0 forms of whiskey but was a food used by shepherds and cattlemen in the Highlands of *gasp* Scotland. Scotch was absolutely correct in the sense I used it and I encourage you to read more.
@@mikegrossberg8624 In particular the languages from the region that is now known as Scotland were know as 'Scotch'. There were various tribes and particular language sets in the region that were NOT 'Scottish' so calling them all 'Scottish' erases them. This includes both Broad Scot (aka Scottish) and Scotch Gaelic. So the entire family of languages producing even the REGIONAL (Edinburgh vs Glasgow, for example) accents is more accurately described as Scotch rather than 'Scottish'. The modern UK version of history refers to them as 'Scottish' and lets just chalk that up to the English Monarchy's obsession with doing their best to pretend the Scots are rightfully their subjects. Which they are not.
Wish we saw more of Leroy, a man in the high class who understands the low class
he actually appears in five of the books and rises to replace Simmerson as the commander of the South Essex, but for script reasons he is absent from all but one episode. at least in the show he gets the girl!
@@SantomPh Leroy dies in the series
I would say Leroy is a man of class, who actually has some class.
Nobody of class owns another human being, then or now.
@@simonlaw9234 it isnt that strange when you consider the prejudices of the period and those that Sharpe held. Assuming him to be a slave profiteer and a whole host of other things given his place, his wealth and his background. Sharpe wasn't immune from bias.
1:02 “You dropped your purse when you was tussling with the young gentleman”
Damn...Capt.Leroy’s delivery of that line was as smooth as whiskey 🥃
What moonshine have you had that is smooth? If it's one of the flavored ones like apple pie, I'll agree. Anything else I'll have to disagree.
I now see what southern charm is
Oooooh! You have a girls purse m'lord🤣
@@patrickkelly3486 GENTLEMAN Jack Daniels. Not normal Jack. Gentleman Jack Daniels, silver label ... is smooth enough you can drink it straight, or if you put a fifth in some cola? You won't even taste it.
@@nayleennoquath8354 before he edited his comment, he said "smooth like moonshine" he changed it to "smooth like whiskey"
Looking at Sean Bean knocking down a young Daniel Craig one line comes to mind. "You know James, I was always better."
Is that really Daniel Craig?
@@Darksky1001able with a wig on yes!
Wasn't Sean bean in golden eye? brosnan was bond then
@@marcs4563 Brosnan got an upper hand there because Bean hadn't met him before...
Thought that was 007 lol been ages since I watched sharp fantastic programme
006 and 007 having a barney in the old days, watched by Agamemnon. That's soldiering.
great comment!
Talking of Bond... Leroy was in 'Never Say Never Again' as the SPECTRE US Pilot with the eye...
All these years I never realised that that was Daniel Craig
Brilliant
@@nedsmith3195 Major Lennox commented WTH HIS LIFE!!!!
Gavan O'Herlihy sadly has passed away today,no matter who he played in other movies and shows,he'll allways be Leroy for me,soldier on ya YANK!!!
Tragic News!!! Might you say how ? What a legend of my youth
You know his father played Marshall Ney in the 1970 film Waterloo.
@@LoudaroundLincoln o wow thats a cool fact. One of the best movies of all time imo
RIP to Gavin. Capt. Leroy, and Arik Thaughbaer from Willow and a dozen more
That’s a shame.
Captain Leroy.....just in case you want a Southern gentleman during the Napoleonic Wars..
Actually an American southerner from South Carolina did serve in the 95th Rifles as an officer and was present at Waterloo.
@@Peacheater707 Who? Anything written on said person? One of loyalist stock, I presume?
@@PercivalC the book is called the American Sharpe. Written by Gareth Glover
@@PercivalC There were more American loyalists fighting in the Napeolonic Wars than you think.
@@cressingham6903 William Howe De Lancey was Wellington's aide and the highest ranking American at Waterloo. He unfortunately didn't make it out alive, being struck by a cannonball and dying just after the battle. He was in fact, a childhood friend of Wellington who he mourned.
As for other Americans about 25,000 of them served during the Napoleonic Wars, though never mixed with British, Irish or Hanoverian units as depicted in Sharpe. Even the fictitious 60th crack company of American Rifles led by Fredrickson doesn't have many Americans in it and is dominated by Germans. Taylor is the only American left.
Handing around a little bag with exactly the right amount of coins to settle somebody else's debt, that's what i call estimating.
My favorite line from Captain Leroy is “Goddamn!” when he rides over the bridge to help the Light Company
C'mon boys! Let's do some shootin' ! *chomps on cigar*
A favorite classic trope, the pouch that always contains the needed amount of money. It's never less than half of what's required or 4 times more.
No one ever checks, so people just use marbles.
"Mr. Sharpe, you dropped your purse...."
"Your welcome...."
Leroy was a decent fellow BUT always with the less than respect able "Slaves molasses and cotton" thing to remind us of his ethically compromised background. An amazingly well written series.
Leroy made his fortune like many people did at the time in the Triangle Trade going on between Africa, the Americas and Great Britain. Investing in a ship, (and taking the risk of ruin if it was lost) could make someone immensely rich as at each stop should the ship make it. It wasn't long after this an international treaty was signed by the world's powers to stop the slave trade by using their navies off of the coast of Africa with authorization to destroy slave ships trying to make a run.
Actually, the way he keeps reminding you of the "slaves, cotton and molasses", he's telling Sharpe "I'm not a good person, I'm not worthy of thanks, nor of respect". It tells you something about him. He's not proud of how his money was made.
The book Leroy was from a loyalist family of traders in Boston and not slavers. The movie producers made him a cigar chomping Virginian slaver for some reason.
Around the Napoleonic wars the English had not yet outlawed slavery of either black or white race of people.
Ethics tend to be fluid depending on the time and place, what we perceive as strange or abhorrent can be normal if not respectable in other cultures. We find the slave trade to be monstrous now but then it was a legal and in some places respectable business.
"This woman is under my protection, Sir."
*Simmerson-Trigger-Warning* "WHAT? HOW DARE YOU, SIR???"
The way he says this line is so campy and over the top.I love it.
Considering how the opportunity would be used today - I really appreciate the gentleman in Leroy's depiction. Not some brute or fool from the colonies but in many situations a genuinely good man. Though [self] aware of his fortune's source, all the same..
Simmerson is so slimy I always felt like I needed a bath after watching any episode he was in 😂
Even the one where he gets totally owned by the priest?
That shows he is a good actor.
Nekolnk13 WHAT! HOW DARE YOU, SIR!
It's true, I just watched this video and took a bath lol
The fault was not his, Major Lennox must answer.
Sticking up for the better man, with a wink and a smile ... now, that’s soldiering!
And a Loyalist to boot . Cheers to Capt. Leroy
Leroy is my favourite slave owning character
who is your second? Is there some kind of top five list?
Shannon Hamilton he doesn't own slaves- it was illegal both in Canada (where his family went to) and in Britain.
@@thunberbolttwo3953 his family sold everything, the slaves, the cotton and the molasses became the foundation of their fortune in Britain.
As the Revolutionary War ended in the 1780s it was safe to say Captain Leroy never owned a slave in his own name.
Next to George Washington, of course. But he's dead by now even in this era.
@@SantomPh While the trading of slaves was abolished in 1807 with in the empire, the practice of slavery itself continued in Canada among the European colonists and First Nation peoples until 1833 when the practice was completely abolished by parliament via the enactment of The Slavery Abolition Act which became effective on August 1, 1834. He could have fled with his slaves but would have had to free them come 1834.
Look at Sharpe's breath at 0:24 - the actors must have been FREEZING that night omg
Well, I think they filmed a lot of the show in Ukraine. So, based on the season....
captain Leroy is in my opinion a very well written example how a good character can be influenced by his upbringing and time period. While he shows having a good heart, a genuine care for his men and no disrespect for how somebody reached his position (even admiring sharpe's way of merit) he doesn't question the way he got his own position, by slave labour. We can't help to sympathize with his inner character yet every sane person would condone some of his other actions.
A good man of his cruel times I suppose.
@Paul Thomas Johnson Being a middle man does make it better, because either you do it or someone else will certainly do it. It doesn't excuse the act, but it does mean that nothing would have changed regardless. Leroy/Le Roy was at the very least a compassionate man (as far as we've seen in the show) for normal, low ranking soldiers and while he uttered it as "I don't condone flogging of white men", it still means he holds some respect for everyday plebs. We don't know how much he actually tolerated flogging of slaves, only that he did do the trading - but never owning. The trade was already done the moment they were caught in Africa.. by African warlords and kings themselves, no less.
In those times you either were rich and did nothing (or it was already laid out for you) or you made a fortune DOING something. The moment you stopped doing your job there was no safety net. Not even the elite and wealthy fallen on bad times had help from their peers. If he had not done the slave trade, a perfectly legitimate job at the time (different times), someone else would and maybe they would have been far worse than Leroy ever was.. if he even was bad to begin with. That level of self sacrificial behavior he had doesn't just appear over night -- as he rode over a bridge he knew he could not return over safely into a battle they had no idea how would end up. All in order to help Sharpe, Lennox, Ensigns and regular soldiers where he had nothing to really gain from it.
@@Catonzo for the time slave trading wasn't considered evil since the Romans. Now with our perceptions changing we see it as evil. Thats why myself and others disagree with the removal of history, we can't judge them by our standards and if we don't learn from it we are doomed to repeat it.
Now as for his sense of duty, its a quality that many wish to have but dont know if they do until that moment. Leroy had his moment and in my eyes passed it with honor
@@Catonzo ...MOST excellent points!
@@Catonzo And Leroy being the scion of a Virginia Loyalist family that likely lost EVERYTHING about 25 years earlier, when the Captain was just a boy, in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War. IDK what funds Leroy had access to, but it's obvious that he's built back his fortune, just not in America.
The American loyalist is portrayed as a descent man, you can tell this isn't an American production.
Sad but true.
We're the villains in our own movies.
I hate Hollywood.
Drew Warner America loyalist must die. Long live our Constitutional Republic.
Ummmm dude, read the books....
Leroy showed considerable sympathies towards the republic, especially with the incompetence and corruption on the British side of the pond.
@patrick howard
How much do we owe you for your failed invasion of Canada?
I'm glad I'm not the only one who took an immediate liking to Cpt. Leroy.
Fucking love Captain Leroy. That dude was awesome.
I like Cap'n Leroy, a gentleman he is! By the way, I would never have guessed Berry to be Craig ^^
Bond Jame Berry Bond
A glimmer of good in a man whose fortune came from slaves, a rare thing to see in media these days.
Major Hogan was also a Damon good character... I like it when he tells Simmerson to go outside & blow his brains out...
Love Leroy's character- tragic hero
Tragic, how so sir?
@@kapitan19969838 Has no country anyomore, conflicted between being rich and Honorable. Yet still a hero
@@kapitan19969838 in the books he eventually becomes the colonel of the South Essex, and is killed leading a charge at the battle of Vitoria if I remember right, which is the last major battle of the peninsula war
Thank You lads, that was helpful
@@kapitan19969838 Leroy is disconnected from his home. He also rises to command the battalion and is Sharpes CO in most of the books until Sharpes Regiment where he is killed in action. A lot of the TV characters are only in 1 episode but are in many of the books. Rifleman Taylor is another American and serving captain Fredicksons company of the 60th. He is mentioned once in Sharpes Enemy, doesn’t speak and you have no idea he’s American. In the books he turns up in every novel Fredickson is in until 1814 when He’s allowed to desert by his officers and get on a ship to the US.
Lunarmix, You can hear the self-mockery--almost self-hatred--in Leroy's voice when he says "Slaves, cotton and molasses." He knows he hasn't earned any of his rich, easy life, so now he's in the army looking for self-respect, honor and a hero. He finds it in Sharpe, the underdog with his own brand of honor, and works hard to earn Sharpe's respect without stepping on Sharpe's touchy pride.
It sounded like it was a normal industry to me.
@@EzekielDeLaCroix It was indeed a normal way to make a lot of money off other people's hard work. That was the point.
@@EzekielDeLaCroix you act like it was a normalized concept in the mind of every contemporary of that time. It wasn't. There were plenty of abolitionists and opposition to slavery.
@@EzekielDeLaCroix Leroy is full of self loathing and sadness of his own; he has a purchased rank with very little to show for it given Simmerson's incompetence. He is actually a good officer who deserves more than Simmerson as a leader. Meeting Sharpe lit a small flame in him- he does eventually rise to Lt Colonel and commands the South Essex before it becomes the POWOV (in the books)
He repeats the "slaves, cotton and molasses" line and alludes to Simmerson's line about "ample means to console himself" .
Touchy Pride!
How DARE you sir?!
*Draws pistol*
... On second reflection, I do believe your words have some merit.
*Abbashed*
Captain LeRoy, was a likable character. Even, if how he got his money, was detestable... But, a good man, nonetheless.
He got his money from his family, who sold off all their stuff pretty much before booking it from Virginia back to England. Remember that this is what, the early 1800s? The guy was a kid during the Revolutionary War time if not younger.
Leroy was such a badass
Sharpe is the all time hero. Hard as nails but fair. If there’s one character in history I want to be, it’s him. Legend
He got shot and beaten up far too often for my wanting to be him :)
The more accurate title is "Captain Leroy spares his comrades from ignoble deaths,
It's my right and my duty to protect a lady in distress! That's soldiering!
0:00
So anyway, I started blastin
It was a great tv show . Stands the test of time still watch when repeated .
J100EHBOO where can you watch the full series?
@@nickhouser3988 You may find it on the net , but i just put a series link to record on Virgin media TV . Sorry not much help i am afraid .
I wanted the winch out! Bag and baggage! That is my style, sir!
Whatever happened to Leroy? Even as he remained loyal to England he is still an exemplary example of what an American Gentleman should be. Hell we could use some of that attitude today, Lord Knows.
He died in the books. Are you willing to hear spoilers?
@@EzekielDeLaCroix Tell me, please. 😥
@@thekingshussar1808 a simple google search will suffice, but it was a soldier's death.
@@EzekielDeLaCroix Damn. RIP
he continues in the South Essex, where he takes part in the Siege of Badajoz alongside Sharpe and the Rifles. He gets promoted to Lt Colonel in Sharpe's Honour and becomes a brigade commander. Unfortunately he is killed in his first battle as commander, even losing his trademark cigar.
Simmons is such a great character and acted so well... How dare u sir! 😂
RIP Gavan O’Herlihy aka Cpt Leroy.
Leroy's statement about 'slaves, cotton, and molasses" is his way of playfully telling Sharpe that he has far more money than Simmerson would ever think about, and beyond that, he doesn't really care about the patronage that Simmerson holds.
god the guy who play Simmerson just cracks me up. what an excellent villian!
Leroy and Sharpe, both Officers and Gentlemen cut from the finest of hearts, minds and souls... that’s the way to do it lads..... Real Men worthy of Respect ✊ .......
That clip should be compulsory viewing globally on how Gentlemen should behave towards girls in general - (and how thugs, scoundrels and swine lose their names and honour).
Fair enough. But who's going to help women dress like women, speak like women and behave like women once again? Men haven't changed. Women have!
Incel alert
@@cgavin1 You're right. Someone should help women dress, speak and behave the way they should. And that task falls to...the women.
@@CMage101 Yeah and they can lose the tattoos too while they're at it.
Women don't deserve respect.Respecting them is what caused the mess of the last 60 years.
For those making the 006/007 connection, you might be interested that Gavan O'Herlihy (who played Leroy) also had a part in the (unofficial) Bond film "Never Say Never Again" as the pilot brother of Kim Basinger's character.
Dude....his father played The Old Man in Robocop AND Grig.
even with the legal fuckfest surrounding it, it's not an unofficial bond film. connery is playing bond. it might be missing some of the classic eon bond tropes, but it's still bond
A Virginia gentleman makes us Virginians proud
Captain Leroy is a Tory but a damn good man. And I'll be damned if Dick Sharpe from the novels doesn't make me wish I was English and born a couple of hundred years earlier.
yup, old england was far better.
+Randall Rogers - A damn good man?! You're joking surely?! Captain Leroy owned slaves!!! Nice guy.
Robert Drummond don't worry, brexit should hasten the return of the good old days as portrayed here.
Robert Drummond Maybe. An Englishman born in the USA.
I dunno if thousands of men dying in the fields of Europe, red coats, muskets and a frankly horrific class divide are ''good old days'' nor am I sure they'll return thanks to Brexit but each to their own...
All these people calling Leroy less for the way he has his money. He doesn’t own slaves, his family might have, but I doubt he was old enough to even remember them let alone have had ownership of any given the time. Certainly doesn’t own them anymore, as per English law at the time it was illegal.
He is a loyalist from America, Virginia specifically. He does own slaves.
@@FranklinsLighthouse no he doesnt. Hes a loyalist meaning he was expelled from the states. His family sold their assets including the slaves, in the united kingdom slavery was banned by this point. Given its 25 or so years on from the revolution its evident he never owned a slave
stewart vs somerset. The legal precedent for owning slaves in britian was never illegal but required a proof positive law that enables it. Kinda weird but it's not AGAINST the law there's just was never (and never will be) a law stating you CAN own slaves.
@vin 950 no just the existing ones about kidnapping and assault so that rules out slavery
This takes place in 1809-1811, Leroy is a loyalist from Virginia where his family is still implanted and wealthy. Although it is stupid of him to say cotton, because in 1809, cotton was not a cash crop, Tobacco was the cash crop for slave plantations, and makes more sense as cotton wont grow in most of Virginia as it requires a more tropical and stable environment. Cotton didnt become the cash crop of the south until AFTER the invention of the cotton gin.
Captain Leroy (Gavin O'Herlihy), same guy in Willow, nice.
well spotted!
Also one of the cattle rustlers that get hanged with Jake Spoon in Lonesome Dove.
Richie Cunninham's older brother in Happy Days, Fraker, Paul Kersey's would be nemesis in Death Wish 3, Airk in Willow, and the murderous Dan Suggs in Lonesome Dove to name a few. And the Irish national tennis champion at one time.
And his father was from Robocop AND Last Starfighter.
Seeing him play the thug in Death wish 3 opposite Charles Bronson to this that's Acting.
Wow 007 and Sean Bean... this series got alot of talented actors
This series has a who's who of ITV and BBC and British movie actors. The guy playing Simmerson alone has an IMDB list as long as my arm.
@@jdrancho1864 And Brian Cox as Hogan has a IMDB probably as long as your other arm.
@@JnEricsonx There's no way you could know, but my friends call me Stumpy - on account of my other arm having been cut off.:)
Seriously, Brian Cox elevates anything he is in. If I had cable, I'd check out 'Succession".
WAIT Berry is daniel craig right??
yup!
petitjaque nice!
GamesOffNermal MetalBassist James Bond's great grandfather was a right prick.
Well spotted that man.
GamesOffNermal MetalBassist Really. Never notice that.
Leroy... I've heard the American pronunciation - LEE-roy - for so long, I've forgotten the origin. Leroy... Le Roi... a lot of French aristocrats settled in the American South
True. If they changed the spelling to LeRoy, it would be less likely to be be mispronounced..
He was a good man .
Born in Ireland 🇮🇪.
❤❤❤
I like Leroy.
Thank you- that has got to be one of the coolest American characters on British TV (despite where his wealth came from...).
It's not actually for sure that he owned slaves, although at the time it would have been likely. When he says "slaves, cotton, molasses" he's not talking about the things HE personally traded but the Triangle trade from Africa, the colonies, and the Caribbean. Slaves were brought from Africa to the colonies and the Caribbean, cotton/tobacco was put on the same ships and finally those ships would often pick up molasses and travel back to Britain.
I am all for the lower orders, being one myself.
"What?! How dare you, sir"
Such a fine actor that played Leroy.. Sorely missed now
"Money talks, merits walks..."
Leroy... captain Leroy.
Guess you dropped your purse while you were tusslin' with the young gentleman....
Everyone hates simmerson, but it must have been a fun character to play.
Not to be a spoiler, he turns decent, kind of, in the end.
@@normanbraslow7902 Only because he was half dead while left in the sun, (with sunscreen on sir!)
@@JohnSmiffer I love Simmerson. Such a funny character. He has some of the best lines in the show.
I never knew why LeRoy never kicked the crap out of Simmerson
The army has quite strict rules on junior officers assaulting their superiors.
Nowt to stop him stepping up behind him with a pistol in the middle of a battle though.
@@LoudaroundLincoln: Sharpe smacked Girdwood
Slaves, Cotton, and Molasses... Now that's soldering...
So ...I haven't had the pleasure of watching this series....but I plan to remedy that as soon as I find out what streaming series carries this. Seems to me that Capt Leroy is a good officer after all.
Amazon has it, but it is not free, even with amazon prime.
There’s a channel named Crusher that has all the movies uploaded. There are Spanish subtitles, but the quality of the movies is great!
Never thought Sharpe would make a fool out of James Bond.
HoW dARe YOu SiRRrR
Assumpta Serna , beautiful Spanish Lady. Sharpe is a lucky bastard.
A bit later on he bags Liz Hurley. Lucky "bugger".
Captain Leroy. A damn fine officer.
Captain Flash Heart
Has no one considered counting money in the pouch? Probably gave away a few guineas in there.
I said buy yourself something nice...not something expensive - Trevor
James Bond's first encounter with 006 didn't go so well for Mr Bond.
Acually you both Owe their debt to Leroy.
Strictly no, they both owe gratitude to him, but strictly speaking leroy lent money to sharpe, and sharpe lent money to her; Leroy wouldnt be able to come after her for the debt
Lets be honest with ourselves, it wasn't le-roy. It was defiantly LEROY! AS IN JENKINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy Days!
Love Leroy.
Yes
Captain Leroy seems like a decent man, for someone who is in his particular circumstance.
He's a man burner, Lonesome Dove(1989).
Ahh James Bond skyfall
With name like Leroy, I think he should be fighting for the French.
Lt Berry is 007 wow!
It's his ancestor from another mother
The Man !
“You twins or what”...
So much is said about Leroy. He seems to be a nice person and prepared to accept Sharpe. He knows what it is to be an outsider
This family had money...yes. They had been forced to leave USA after revolution after his dad picked the losing side. Owning g slaves now? .... I don't think so.
One point, slave owning families had members who didn't support slavery. That was one way families were torn apart in the civil war.
We never hear him comment whether for against. Though he is horrified at the thought of floggings.
In lending Sharpe money, he was supporting Sharpe. I believe he liked Sharpe. Was concerned at how younger men/boys looked up at him and took same risks, even warned Denny to stay clear of idol worshipping Sharpe. Does mean Leroy wouldn't support him and respect him.
In the books he covers for Sharpe a lot as he goes up the ranks. Naturally there's times, like with Wellington, when Sharpe gets a bit too hot headed or risk taking. But Leroy is trying to keep him out of trouble.
Lastly Leroy would have been constantly reminded of his roots and how he doesn't fit in. He's not a gentleman. But a colonial. Sure he has money. But they look down on him. Saying "Slaves, molasses and cotton" seems his way of saying "yeah I'm a bastard" as Sharpe would say of himself. Literally, "Yeah yeah I know what you think,"
Sharpe carries a bias against people with money so sometimes must forget Leroy's background. He seems to grow out of it in the books.
Slavery wasn't actually outlawed in the British Empire until 1833, so for Leroy to deal in them in 1809, quite possible.
Much better in the books
Leroy's total class, slavery not withstanding.
I hope Shsrpe was paid in full.
Leroy gave him a full purse, given his wealth I'd say Sharpe was paid.
So that is where Richie Cunningham's older brother ended up. In the British Army.
never could figure out how to melt slaves and cotton, let alone melt them into gold.
Another term for financial liquidation. He sold them off basically.
Alec Trevelyan rules!
With slave money....that just gets fckin annoying....
Felix coming in to save 006 from 007 like a true lad.
Good old Chuck Cunningham.
Hmmm, Sharpe and the lady didn't even bother to look in the pouch that Leroy handed over to see what was in it. It could have had gravel, or glass beads, or copper, or silver, or gold.
Jon Cryer was born in New York City, NY.
Most bizarre period of warfare in history. Muh tuxedos.
The amount of smoke generated by firearms of the era necessitated the use of bright colored uniforms to distinguish who was who on the battlefield. Sharpe and his men were skirmishers who conducted scouting and flanking. The nature of their missions allowed them to wear darker colors.
Bizarre nothing!!!!, Those uniforms are resplendent. Style is something much lacking in most modern uniforms with the exception of a few European dress Uniforms
"Leroy, by the way how much was in that purse?" Leroy: "oh about 50,000 pounds worth of gold."
It'd be £50,000 in today's money. Back then, money had actual value and wasn't the token it is today. Things weren't cheaper back then-- it's just that currency has become less valuable.
People back then treated a silver dollar like how we treat a $20 bill today. The kicker is, there's about $15-$17 (in today's money) worth of silver in such a coin, so the value isn't all that different.
Oh look it's James Bond.
And a James Bond villain (Sean Bean) plus one James Bond lackey (Gavan O'Herlihy aka Captain Leroy).
Sorry to say, but I’ve had to look up what Molasses are. The word comes from the Portuguese and ancient Greek words for Honey. It’s the black treacle of refined sugar. “Slaves, cotton and molasses”. 🍯
Its also used to make rum.
@@bieituns 😀
Daniel Craig was a stud holy shit
Aren't you going to count it before paying the servants?
As a history fan my ONLY wish was that Leroy's accent was not *so* Southern. The Southern Accent the world i\s familiar with had not fully formed until about the time of the Civil War and was mostly the 'lower' classes in the USA. The upper-classes still maintained their 'mother' accents: Scotch, Irish, and English, whereas the Northerners had a decidedly continental Germanic 'twang' to theirs.
It truly does work for the show though showing he is 100% American rather than raised in England or other such things, but a more accurate portrayal of American accents up to the 1830s or so would be the 'John Adams' series on HBO where even Thomas Jefferson almost sounds Scotch-Irish. (For those interested.)
Gaius Maecanus: People from Scotland are either S-C--O-T-T-I-S-H or S-C-O-T-S
SCOTCH is an alcoholic beverage
@@mikegrossberg8624 Hi, uh... Absolutely not. Wrong. idc if you are Scottish or claim Scottish ancestry, the rights to language and words is not genetic. While 'scotch' might be old fashioned in reference to referring to the culture or customs of Scotland it is entirely accurate. Please do more research.
The people can be Scottish, or Scots depending on grammatical usage but 'Scotch' is in reference to the culture or peculiarities from that culture.
Such as a 'Scotch Egg', which contains absolutely 0 forms of whiskey but was a food used by shepherds and cattlemen in the Highlands of *gasp* Scotland.
Scotch was absolutely correct in the sense I used it and I encourage you to read more.
@@mikegrossberg8624 In particular the languages from the region that is now known as Scotland were know as 'Scotch'. There were various tribes and particular language sets in the region that were NOT 'Scottish' so calling them all 'Scottish' erases them. This includes both Broad Scot (aka Scottish) and Scotch Gaelic.
So the entire family of languages producing even the REGIONAL (Edinburgh vs Glasgow, for example) accents is more accurately described as Scotch rather than 'Scottish'.
The modern UK version of history refers to them as 'Scottish' and lets just chalk that up to the English Monarchy's obsession with doing their best to pretend the Scots are rightfully their subjects. Which they are not.
@@hellstorme I bow to one with greater knowledge than I
Someone commented that they probably did that for the show to make Leroy stand out admist all the other accents.
Bond. It's bloody BOND!