Thomas Fairfax 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron portrait general parliamentary commander in chief English Civil War Black Tom
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 1612 – 12 November 1671) was a general and parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. His dark hair and eyes and a swarthy complexion earned him the nickname Black Tom. 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. Both father and son distinguished themselves in the campaigns in Yorkshire. Sometimes severely defeated, more often successful, and always energetic, prudent and resourceful, they contrived to keep up the struggle until the crisis of 1644, when York was held by the Marquess of Newcastle against the combined forces of the English Parliamentarians and the Scots, and Prince Rupert hastened with all available forces to its relief. A gathering of eager national forces within a few square miles of ground naturally led to a battle, and Marston Moor (2 July 1644) proved decisive for the struggle in the north. The younger Fairfax bore himself with the greatest gallantry in the battle, and though severely wounded managed to join Oliver Cromwell and the victorious cavalry on the other wing. One of his brothers, Colonel Charles Fairfax, was killed in the action. But the Marquess of Newcastle fled the kingdom, and the Royalists abandoned all hope of retrieving their affairs. The city of York was taken, and nearly the whole north submitted to the Parliament. In the south and west of England, however, the Royalist cause was still strong. The war had lasted two years, and the nation began to complain of the contributions that were exacted, and the excesses that were committed by the military. Dissatisfaction was expressed with the military commanders, and, as a preliminary step to reform, the Self-denying Ordinance was passed. This involved the removal of the Earl of Essex from the supreme command, along with other Members of Parliament.
Size: 2990px × 4502px
Photo credit: © SOTK2011 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -fashioned, 1800, 19th, 2d, 3rd, academic, age, aged, ancient, antiquarian, antique, antiquity, art, artistic, black, book, bw, bygone, cameron, century, chief, civil, classical, commander, copy, cut, cut-, drawing, embossed, empire, english, engrave, engraved, engraver, engraving, etching, expression, fairfax, figure, formal, front, frontispiece, general, graphic, hand, heritage, historic, historical, history, illustrated, illustration, image, imperial, lord, majesty, master, monotone, national, nineteenth, notable, obscure, obsolete, olden, original, paper, parliamentary, period, pictorial, picture, portrait, pre, press, print, printed, printing, proof, publication, publicity, rare, real, realism, realistic, reference, relief, replica, represent, representation, repro, reproduce, reproduction, retro, romantic, social, standard, steel, studio, style, teach, thomas, time, title, tom, tool, topic, topical, tract, unusual, victoria, victorian, vintage, war, white
