Robert
Devereux, the eldest son of Robert Devereux,
2nd Earl of Essex, was born in 1591. Devereux's father was executed
for treason by Elizabeth
in 1601. However, in 1604 James
I restored
Devereux to his father's estate.
Devereux
served under the Duke of Buckingham in the expedition against the
Spanish at Cadiz in 1625. The following year he became associated
with the opposition to Charles I. He
refused to pay the forced loans demanded by the king in 1627 and in
1628 voted for the Petition of Right which criticized royal conduct
of government.
On the
outbreak of the Civil
War Devereux
was made Lord-General of the Parliamentary army. Devereux commanded
the Parliamentary forces at Edgehill
(1642) and
the capture of Reading (1643).
Devereux's
military leadership was criticised by Henry
Vane,
the political leader of the House of Commons.
Devereux fought back by trying to have Oliver
Cromwell impeached
for sedition. This move failed and in April 1645 he joined Edward
Montagu,
Earl of Manchester, in resigning from the army. Robert
Devereux, 3rd Earl
of Essex, died in September, 1646.
Available
from Amazon Books (order below)
