Shortly before the outbreak of the Fairfax's last service as Commander-in-chief was the suppression of the In 1654 Fairfax was elected MP for the newly created constituency of For the last time Fairfax's appearance in arms helped to shape the future of the country, when The remaining eleven years of the life of Lord Fairfax were spent in retirement at his seat in Yorkshire. Categories 

Dissatisfaction was expressed with the military commanders and, as a preliminary step to reform, the With the collapse of the Royalist cause came a confused period of negotiations between the Parliament and the King, between the King and the Scots, and between the Fairfax was more at home in the field than at the head of a political committee, and, finding events too strong for him and that his officers were rallying around the more radical and politically shrewd Cromwell, he sought to resign his commission as commander-in-chief. Login …fighting alongside the parliamentary general Sir Thomas Fairfax, succeeded in stemming the Royalist attacks at Winceby in Lincolnshire and then successfully besieged Newark in Nottinghamshire. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

General Sir Thomas Fairfax was arguably the most important general of the British Civil Wars. Thomas Fairfax, the son of Ferdinando Fairfax, was born in Denton, Yorkshire, in 1612.A soldier, he served under Baron Vere in the Netherlands. However, when the Civil War broke out in 1642 he took the side of Parliament and played an important in the defeat of Royalist forces at Marston Moor in 1644.

An adept and talented commander, Fairfax led Parliament to many victories, notably the crucial Battle of Naseby, becoming effectively military ruler of England, but was eventually overshadowed by his subordinate Oliver Cromwell, who was more politically adept and radical in action … What are the leaders of the American Revolution called?

Both father and son distinguished themselves in the campaigns in Yorkshire.Sometimes severely defeated, but more often successful, and always energetic, prudent and resourceful, father and son contrived to keep up the struggle until the crisis of 1644, when York was held by the In the south and west of England, however, the Royalist cause was still strong.

When Charles summoned the gentry to attend him on Heworth Moor near York on 3 June 1642, Sir Thomas was chosen to present a petition urging a reconciliation with Parliament. His wife died in 1665Fairfax was succeeded as Lord Fairfax by a cousin, As a soldier he was exact and methodical in planning, in the heat of battle "so highly transported that scarce any one durst speak a word to him",In the winter of 1642/43 Parliamentary victories were few and far between.

…Model Army was commanded by Thomas Fairfax, Baron Fairfax, and eventually the cavalry was led by Lieut.

By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox.

Features 

Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 1612 – 12 November 1671), also known as Sir Thomas Fairfax, was an English nobleman, peer, politician, general, and Parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. The London news broadsheets published the exploits and one of them suggested that Fairfax was "the Rider of the White Horse", the allegory was immediately clear to those of a Puritan leaning as it was a passage in the Jacqueline Eales, ‘Fairfax , Anne, Lady Fairfax (1617/18–1665)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004

Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription.

Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 1612-12 November 1671) was commander-in-chief of the English Parliamentarian army from 1644 to 1649 during the English Civil War, succeeding the Earl of Essex and preceding Oliver Cromwell.

Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Baron Fairfax, commander in chief of the Parliamentary army during the English Civil Wars between the Royalists and Parliamentarians.

His tactical skill and personal courage helped bring about many of the Parliamentary victories in northern and southwestern England. The Fairfaxes, father and son, though serving at first under King When the civil war broke out in 1642, his father, Lord Fairfax, was appointed general of the Parliamentary forces in the north, and Sir Thomas was made lieutenant-general of the horse under him.