Sir Thomas Fairfax of Cameron
Sir Thomas Fairfax also known as 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron was a highly regarded general and commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. He was born on January 17, 1612 in the town of Denton near Otley, Yorkshire. He was the first-born son of Ferdinando Fairfax who was the 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron.
Thomas Fairfax attended St. John's College in Cambridge for three years, from 1626 to 1629 after which he went to the Netherlands to enlist as a volunteer in the English Army in the Low Countries under the command of Sir Horace Vere. Vere held Thomas Fairfax in high regard and he later married Sir Horace's daughter Anne during the summer of 1637.
Both Thomas Fairfax and his father were initially loyal to the then King of England, Charles I, Thomas in fact, having been knighted by Charles in 1640.
In the face of the increasingly intolerable policies of the monarchy however, both father and son gradually started to align their opinions with the Parliament. Sir Thomas was put in a position of mediator between both sides and while he tried to maintain his loyalty to the King for as long as he possibly could, he gradually came to become a sort of spokesman for the Parliament.
He was often tasked with the responsibility of petitioning the King with the concerns of the Parliament and beseeching the King to accept their counsel. When Charles ordered the formation of a troop of armed men purportedly for his own personal protection, it was suspected that he intended this force to be the beginnings of a much larger army. Fairfax was sent to the King to dissuade him from carrying out his plans.
Sir Thomas Fairfax would say of Parliament that it was the best and safest council at the disposal of the King and that Charles would do well to heed their entreaties. Charles would not be swayed by reason however and continued to amass troops in preparation for the coming civil war.
When fighting finally broke out, the Fairfax's found themselves in the North, fighting on the Parliament side against their King; with the senior Fairfax as general and Thomas as lieutenant-general under his father's command. Both men went on to impressive victories in Yorkshire and many parts of the North. Thomas stood out in the Battle of Marsten Moor in particular, where his bravery and tenacity were an example to the men under him. He was severely wounded at this battle, his own brother Colonel Charles Fairfax had in fact lost his life, yet still managed to rejoin the forces led by Oliver Cromwell on the other flank. They went on to overwhelm the Royalist forces and the Parliament army claimed the city of York in victory.
The rest of his military career was marked with similar victorious accomplishments and when the war was finally over, Fairfax found himself involved in the trial of Charles, which resulted in the monarch's eventual execution.
Thomas Fairfax died on November 12th, 1671
Original Authors: Doods Pangburn
Edit Update Authors: M.A.Harris
Updated On: 25/07/2008
