SIRTHOMASFAIRFAX1612-71
THEGALLANTCOMMANDEROFTHENEWMODEL
ARMYWHOWONTHEBATTLEOFNASEBY
A Yorkshiregentleman,Fairfaxsawmilitaryservicein theNetherlands
andtheBishops’WarsbeforeCharlesI knightedhim.Nevertheless,
FairfaxsidedwithParliamentandinitiallycommandedtheirforcesin
northernEngland.Althoughhisfortuneswereinitiallymixed,hegaineda
courageousreputationandalsobegancooperatingwithOliverCromwell.
WorkingwithScottishCovenanters,Fairfaxwasoneof thevictorious
commandersat MarstonMoorandhewasappointedthecommander-
in-chiefof theNewModelArmyin January1645.Fairfaxthenwonhisgreatestbattleat Nasebyand
personallycapturedthecoloursof PrinceRupert’sbluecoatregiment.
AfterNaseby,Fairfaxvigorouslycampaignedin southwestEngland.Hisvictoriesincludedbattles
at LangportandTorringtonwhilehealsocapturedmanyimportantcitiesincludingBristolandthe
Royalistheadquartersat Oxford.
Fairfaxwentonto helpwinthesecondwar,albeitwithincreasedheavy-handedness,butbecame
concernedbytheactionsof ParliamentandhisarmyagainstthenowimprisonedCharles.Hefamously
refusedto signtheking’sdeathwarrantandresignedascommander-in-chiefin 1650.Thisaction
arguablysavedhislifewhenCharlesII wasrestoredin 1660.BRITISH CIVIL WARS
JOHN LILBURNE 1614-57
THE LEVELLER FIREBRAND WHO PASSIONATELY
ADVOCATED POLITICAL DEMOCRACY AND
INFLUENCED FUTURE REVOLUTIONS
Born in Sunderland, Lilburne was influenced by Puritan
pamphleteers who railed against the Anglican episcopacy. He
became a Parliamentarian officer, fought at Edgehill and Marston
Moor, rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel and captured Tickhill
Castleonhisowninitiative.Despitehisservice,heresignedhis
commissionin 1645andwasimprisonedin theTowerof London.
Hewroteradical,widelycirculatedpiecesfromtheTowerthat
highlyinfluenced“Leveller”thinking.Thisinvolveda newformof
governmentthatwasdirectlyanswerableto theEnglishpeoplewith
extendedsuffrageandequalitybeforethelawamongotherideas.
Lilburnehelpedto draftthesethoughtsinto“AnAgreementof
thePeople”,whichwasdebatedbytheNewModelArmyat the
PutneyDebatesin 1647.AlthoughtheLevellersdidnotachieve
whattheywantedandweresubsequentlycrushedbyCromwell,
Lilburnecoinedtheterm“FreebornRights”andwasnicknamed
“FreebornJohn”.Hespentmuchof therestof hislifein andout
of prisonforhisagitationsbuthisideasdirectlyinfluencedthe
AmericanandFrenchrevolutions.PRINCE RUPERT
OF THE RHINE 1619-82
THE ARCHETYPAL CAVALIERBy far the most energetic and famous of the
Royalist commanders, Rupert was Charles I’s
nephew. A soldier since the age of 14, Rupert
fought in the Thirty Years’ War and used the
opportunity of the war in England to continue
his military career. Charles quickly made him
a Knight of the Garter and appointed him the
commander of the Royalist cavalry.
In this role the prince soon gained a dashing
reputation after he routed a Parliamentarian
force at Powick Bridge in September 1642. He
actively directed operations across England and
Wales but his fortunes were decidedly mixed.
While he succeeded in capturing or relieving
many cities, Rupert could never totally control
his cavalry. This resulted in the stalemate at
the Battle of Edgehill and the outright Royalist
defeats at Marston Moor and Naseby.
After Rupert surrendered Bristol in
September 1645, Charles dismissed him
from his service before he was banished from
England by Parliament the following year. He
continued to serve the Royalists in a naval
capacity with far-reaching but failed campaigns
against the Commonwealth Navy in the
Atlantic, Mediterranean and Caribbean seas
between1650-53.JAMESGRAHAM,1STMARQUESSOFMONTROSE1612-50
THETALENTEDSCOTWHOWONMANYVICTORIESFORCHARLESI
Montrosewasinitiallya Covenanterwhofoughtin theBishops’
WarsagainstCharlesI’sAnglicanpoliciesin Scotland.Nevertheless,
hesubsequentlydisagreedwithotherScottishnoblemenwhohe
believedweretryingto usurpthepowerof thekingin Scotlandand
becamea ferventRoyalist.
CharlesappointedMontroseashislieutenantgeneralin
ScotlandagainsttheCovenanterswhosupportedtheEnglish
Parliament.Withfewresources,Montrosefoughta guerrilla
campaignagainsttheCovenantersin theHighlandswitha motley
armyof clansmenandIrishsoldiers.In twocampaignsduring
1644-45,themarquesswonsixremarkablebattlesat Tippermuir,
Aberdeen,Inverlochy,Auldearn,AlfordandKilsyth.Thesevictories
boostedRoyalistmoralebutwhenMontrosemovedintotheLowlands
hewasdefeatedat theBattleof Philiphaughin September1645.
Afterbeingexiledthefollowingyear,Montrosewashailedasa
herothroughoutEuropeandsworeto avengeCharles’sexecution
in 1649.Hemanagedto capturetheOrkneyIslandsbutwas
defeatedandcapturedonthemainlandat Carbisdale.CharlesII
wasforcedto disavowMontrosebytheCovenantersandhewas
hungin Edinburghon 21 May1650. Images:AlamyRupertcontinued
to serveCharles
II afterthe
Restorationas
anadmiralin the
RoyalNavy.He
eventuallyrose
to therankof
“Generalat Sea
andLand”Montrose was also a poet and
once wrote, “He neither fears his
fate too much, Or his deserts are
small, That puts it not unto the
touch, To win or lose it all”
Because of his argumentative
personality, Henry Martin wrote, “If
the World was emptied of all but John
Lilburne, Lilburne would quarrel with
John, and John with Lilburne”