Colonel Fiennes - drgavinr/tei-texts GitHub Wiki
| Category: | People |
| Type: | Disambiguation |
Wharton's letters sometimes mention a colonel called Vines or Foynes who commanded a horse troop and was present at Powick Bridge. These are within the expected range of spellings for Fiennes, but there was no colonel with this or a similar surname in Essex's army in 1642. Nathaniel, John, and Francis Fiennes were all paid as captains of horse only.[1] Nathaniel was first paid as colonel shortly before he left to take up a new command in the west in March 1643.[2]
Wharton may sometimes have got ranks or titles wrong, or misidentified people altogether. For other possible examples, see Colonel Clarke and Lord Mountjoy. It would be reasonable to conclude that Wharton meant Nathaniel Fiennes (especially at Powick Bridge) and gave him the wrong rank, except that Peachey has found other contemporary sources that refer to a Colonel Fiennes, and sometimes Colonel Nathaniel Fiennes. Peachey was aware that this did not match his regular rank and suggested that the colonelcy may be a militia rank.[3] This needs to be investigated further.
- ^ TNA, SP 28/143, Account of Francis Vernon, ff. 5v, 6r, 8v, 44r, 46r give the earliest and latest payments in 1642 (transcript).
- ^ TNA, SP 28/143, Account of Francis Vernon, f. 54r.
- ^ Stuart Peachey (ed.), The Edgehill Campaign and the Letters of Nehemiah Wharton (Leigh on Sea: Partizan Press, 1989), p. 33.