Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (29 March 1584 – 14 March 1648) was a Parliamentarian general during the English Civil War and the father of Thomas Fairfax.
Biography[]
Ferdinando Fairfax was born in Yorkshire, England on 29 March 1584, the son of Thomas Fairfax, 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron. Four of his brothers were killed while serving in the military overseas, while he served as MP for Boroughbridge from 1614 to 1629 and from 1640 to 1648. He commanded a regiment in King Charles I of England's army during his war against the Scottish Covenanters, but he sided with the Parliamentarians at the start of the English Civil War and became commander of their forces in Yorkshire. He and his son Thomas Fairfax suffered several defeats early in the war, with Lord Fairfax being toally defeated on 30 June 1643 at the Battle of Adwalton Moor. He escaped to Hull, which he defended against William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, and he was routed at the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644. In July 1644, he was made Governor of York, and, in December 1644, he took the town of Pontefract, but he failed to capture the castle. He died of gangrene in 1648.