Fairfax was the name of two leaders, father and son, of the Parliamentary army in the English Civil War of the 1640’s.
Ferdinando Fairfax
(1584-1648), Baron Fairfax, became a member of the Long Parliament in 1640 (see Long Parliament). At the outbreak of the English Civil War in 1642, he took command of the Parliamentary forces in northern England, where he opposed the Duke of Newcastle. He was heavily defeated at the Battle of Adwalton Moor in 1643. He defended Hull stubbornly against Royalist attacks in 1643 and 1644. Fairfax was one of the commanders who left the Battle of Marston Moor (1644), believing that the Royalists had won. He was born on March 29, 1584, and died on March 14, 1648.
Thomas Fairfax
(1612-1671), Baron Fairfax and son of Ferdinando Fairfax, was a Parliamentary cavalry leader. In 1643, he removed his cavalry safely from the Royalist victory at Adwalton Moor. At the Battle of Marston Moor, in 1644, he attacked the Royalist Army in the rear, a decisive move. Fairfax largely formed and trained Parliament’s New Model Army, and he was appointed its commander in chief. He led the New Model Army to victory at the crucial Battle of Naseby in 1645.
After the capture of King Charles I, Fairfax tried to make peace between the king and Parliament. As a member of the special court that tried Charles, he tried to prevent the king’s execution, but failed. In 1650, Fairfax refused to lead an army against Scotland and retired from military service. Later, he headed the commission that went to The Hague in 1660 to negotiate the return of King Charles II. Fairfax was born in Denton, North Yorkshire, England, on Jan. 17, 1612. He died on Nov. 12, 1671.
