The man appointed to lead this army was Sir Thomas Fairfax. Fairfax had made a name for himself as a warrior and commander fighting in Northern England and Scotland earlier in his career. As Lord-General of the army he was able to appoint and train his officers, and at his own will due to the Self-Denying Ordnance Act I previously touched on. He was directly involved in the training of these officers as well as organizing the fighting force it self.

He seemed most concerned with making his force as disciplined as possible. Stated by Tombs in his book, "Harsh discipline knocked [the army] into shape, including humiliating and painful penalties for drunkenness and fornication; blasphemer had their tongues pierced with a hot iron"(Tombs 233). The harsh discipline of these armies would make them able to take orders efficiently without question, as well as prevent theirs battle lines from breaking by just being mentally stronger then the opponents.

Plant, David. “Sir Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax, 1612-1671.” Biography of Sir Thomas Fairfax, 2012, bcw-project.org/biography/sir-thomas-fairfax.

Tombs, Robert. The English and their History. First Edition. Vintage Books, 2014.