ECW Historical Guides: Ranks

[Black Watch 1745]

A brief discussion of the ranks used in the Civil War starting with the most senior and working down. Note I am using modern English spelling, old english sspelling is next to it although there are several variations.
Lord General [Lord Generall]
Initially I was sceptical about this rank but apparently Sir Thomas Fairfax was given this rank in 1645 when he took command of the New Model as was Alexander Leslie, Earl of Leven for the Covenanters. I have seen some sources refer to the Earl of Essex as Lord-General as well although I am pretty sure he was only a Captain-General at the start of the war. However, I have recently come across a letter in a book about the Astley family written by Sir Edward Astley, a Parliamentarian, who writes in 1643 that he was going to see his Lord General, which would be the Earl of Manchester, so he may have had the title as well. There is alo the Earl of Bedford who was made 'Lord General of the Horse'.
As far as I am aware the King did not bestow anyone with the rank of 'Lord General'. I believe the King did make Prince Rupert 'General-of-the Army' so this could possibly be seen as a Royalist equivalent. However, a few sources I have come across do mention the Earl of Newcastle being given this rank.
It appears that this rank was meant for the overall commander of the entire army, roughly equivalent to say a Field Marshall today.
Captain-General [Captaine-Generall]
The Captain-General would usually command one of the main field armies. For example, the Earl of Manchester was Captain-General of the Eastern Association (again, as previously mentioned, he is refered to as Lord General though so he may have been promoted) whilst the King made Patrick Ruthven, Earl of Forth Captain-General of the Oxford Army (although again I hve een a few sources refering to him as Lord General).
In later periods the 'Captain' part of the title was dropped and the rank became just 'General'.
Lieutenant General
This officer would usually act as the second in command of the army. One notable example is Oliver Cromwell who was Lieutenant-General of the Horse for the Eastern Association and later the New Model. It seems an army would have two Lieutenant Generals, one for the Horse and one for the Artillery although there would also be a 'General of Artillery' above that although the exact title varied.
Sergeant-Major-General
This officer would command the infantry. Notable examples include Phillip Skippon who commanded Essex's and later the New Model's infantry and Jacob Astley who commanded the King's infantry pretty much throughout the entire war. I have also seen mention of 'Major-General of Horse' for Hopton's Royalist army in the West.
Sometimes the 'Sergeant' part of the title would be dropped and today the rank is known as 'Major-general'.
Colonel [Colonell]
Commander of a regiment. Normally the regiment would take the Colonels name, in a few cases it would be named in honour of a high ranking commander (The King's Lifeguard of Foote, the Earl of Essex's Regiment of Foote etc.) but it would usually have its own colonel anyway. Occasioanly the colonel may be detached to command a brigade or another formation.
Whilst commander of the regiment, the Colonel would also personally command the first company which on paper would be 200 strong.
Lieutenant-Colonel
Second in command of the regiment. He would also command the second company himelf which would be about 180 strong. He may command the whole regiment if the Colonel was absent.
Sergeant-Major/Major [Seriant Maior]
The third in command of the regiment. Sometimes he would be refered to as the Sergeant-Major (the Regiment of the City of Oxford being an example) so this should not be confused with the modern NCO rank. He would command the third company in the regiment, on paper about 120 strong.
Captain [Captaine]
The commander of the company. A company would be, on paper, 100 men strong with one captain at its head. I have also heard that there was the rank of 'Captain-Lieutenant' which would be bestowed on the senior lieutenant of the Colonel's company if the Colonel was not present. From what I can tell the Colonel's, Lt-Colonel's and Major's company would not have a captain as the senior officers commanded it themselves (as stated though the Colonel's Company might have a Captain-Lieutenant).
Lieutenant
There would be two lieutenants in the company who would act as second in command to the captain.
Ensign
One per company who would carry the Company's colour. As I assume the colours would be ammased in the centre with the pike block then he would not always be with the whole company (companies would be a mixture of pike and shotte).
Gentleman-of-the-Arms
I have only come across this rank in a book by Peter Young. I am asuming it would be similar to the modern rank of Sergeant-Major so would be something of a senior NCO. There would be one per company.
Sergeant
Two per company. They would be the senior NCO's (not including the Gentleman-of-the-Arms unless he is considered an officer).
Corporal
Again I was initally sceptical about this rank but Peter Young makes mention of there being a few corporals in each company. There was no such thing as a squad/section at this point so they would probably have acted as junior NCO's for the whole company rather than commanding their own little unit.
Drummer
Usually one per company. Unlike in the Napoleonic Wars they would not be the steriotypical image of young boys/men but usually very wealthy and well educated gentlemen. They would beat out commands in the field (although not necesarily to keep the men in step) and would act as messengers and spies.

Other Ranks
Cavalry
Cornet
This is the cavalry equivalent of the Ensign. He would carry the Troops Colour. A Troop of Horse would be commanded by a Captain, he would have a Lieutenant, a Cornet, a Trumpeter instead of a Drummer and a few Corperals. Peter Young makes no mention of sergeants for the cavalry.
Farrier
Not too sure on this rank. A Farrier is a person who deals with the horses hooves so I do not know if this should be considered a rank or more of a role.
Other ranks of General
There were a lot of other General ranks and variations, mainly realted to logistics. Examples include the 'Provost Marshall General', 'Carriage Master General'. 'Muster-Master-General' and 'Commissary-General' for Essex's Army. Sometimes the General of Artillery would be referred to as 'General of the Ordinance'.
Artillery
I will hopefully do an article on the artillery soon but briefly there are ranks mentioned such as 'Master Gunner' and 'Battery Commander'.
Field Marshall
I have come across a few mentions of Lord Hopton being given the title 'Field Marshall of the West'. Wether this is a separate rank or not I am not sure, it seems to be the only use of the term 'Field Marshall'. It seems more like an appointment to command forces in a certain region rather than a rank. Sometimes he is also referred to as 'Field Marshall of the Army'.
A note on fifers...
Fifers did exist at this time but they did not serve in the field from what we can tell. Charles I himself effectively banned them from playing alongside the drummers before the war so they did not ruin the way the 'English March' was played. Occasional mention is made of fifers accompanying the regiments on the march but they were usually civilians who just tagged along. One Covenanter regiment is mentioned as having one but apparently he was a drunkard so they regularly just left him behind.