Army Council (1647)

Army Council
(1647–1648)
Council of Officers
(1648–1653)
LeaderThomas Fairfax
Dates of operation1647 (1647)–1653 (1653)
Dissolved20 April 1653
Merger ofAgitators
Grandees
Merged intoPrivy Council
Country England
AllegianceParliament
Part ofNew Model Army

The Army Council was a body established in 1647 to represent the views of all levels of the New Model Army. It originally consisted of senior commanders, like Sir Thomas Fairfax, and representatives elected by their regiments, known as Agitators.

Following the Putney Debates of October to November 1647, Fairfax, Oliver Cromwell and Henry Ireton grew concerned by their radicalism, and in 1648, Agitators were removed from the Council. Now dominated by the so-called Grandees, it became the Council of Officers.