John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough

General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English army officer and statesman. From a gentry family, he served as a page at the court of the House of Stuart under James, Duke of York, through the 1670s and early 1680s, earning military and political advancement through his courage and diplomatic skill. He is known for never having lost a battle.

Churchill's role in defeating the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685 helped secure James on the throne, but he was a key player in the military conspiracy that led to James being deposed during the Glorious Revolution. Rewarded by William III with the title Earl of Marlborough, persistent charges of Jacobitism led to his fall from office and temporary imprisonment in the Tower of London. William recognised his abilities by appointing him as his deputy in Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium) before the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession in 1701, but not until the accession of Queen Anne in 1702 did he secure his fame and fortune.

Marriage to Sarah Jennings and her relationship with Anne ensured Marlborough's rise, first to the captain-generalcy of British forces, then to a dukedom. As de facto leader of Allied forces in the Low Countries, his victories at the battles of Blenheim (1704), of Ramillies (1706), of Oudenarde (1708), and of Malplaquet (1709) ensured his place in history as one of Europe's great generals. His wife's stormy relationship with the Queen, and her subsequent dismissal from court, was central to his own fall. Incurring Anne's disfavour, and caught between Tory and Whig factions, Marlborough was forced from office and went into self-imposed exile. He returned to favour with the accession of George I to the throne in 1714, but a stroke in 1716 ended his career.

Marlborough's leadership of the main Allied army against Louis XIV from 1701 to 1711 helped to consolidate Britain's emergence as a front-rank power, while his ability to maintain unity in the fractious coalition demonstrated his diplomatic skills. He is often remembered by military historians as much for his organisational and logistic skills as his tactical abilities. Marlborough's military exploits have resulted in successive historians describing him as one of the finest military commanders in history.

Early life (1650–1678)

Family

thumb|left|The Drake home of [[Ash, Musbury|Ash, in Devon, rebuilt by Sir John Drake, 1st Baronet after its near-destruction during the Civil War]]

Churchill was the second but eldest surviving son of Sir Winston Churchill of Glanvilles Wootton, Dorset, and Elizabeth Drake, whose family came from Ash, Devon. Winston served with the Royalist army in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms; he was heavily fined for doing so, forcing his family to live at Ash House with his mother-in-law. John Churchill was a descendant of Edward I through his daughter, Joan of Acre.

After the 1660 Restoration of Charles II, Winston became Member of Parliament for Weymouth and from 1662 served as Commissioner for Irish Land Claims in Dublin. On returning to London in 1663, he was knighted and received a position at Whitehall, with John attending St Paul's School.

The family fortune was made in 1665 when Arabella Churchill became maid of honour to Anne Hyde and began an affair with her husband, James, Duke of York (later James II). This lasted over a decade; James had four acknowledged children with her, including James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick. Their relationship led to appointments for her brothers: John was appointed page to James, and in September 1667 made an ensign in the Foot Guards.

Army entry

thumb|upright|[[James II of England|James, Duke of York]]

Assertions that Churchill served with the Tangier Garrison cannot be confirmed, but he is recorded as being with Sir Thomas Allin in the Mediterranean from March to November 1670. He returned to London, where in February 1671 he engaged in a duel with Sir John Fenwick. He allegedly had an affair with Barbara Villiers, a mistress of Charles II, and may have fathered her daughter Barbara Fitzroy, although he never formally acknowledged her.

thumb|left|[[Battle of Solebay, Churchill's first major action]]

In 1670 Treaty of Dover, Charles II agreed to support a French attack on the Dutch Republic and supply a British brigade of 6,000 troops for the French army. Louis XIV paid him £230,000 per year for this. When the Franco-Dutch War began in 1672, Churchill was present at the Battle of Solebay on 28 May, possibly aboard James's flagship, the Prince, which was crippled.

Shortly thereafter, Churchill was commissioned Captain in the Duke of York's Admiralty Regiment, part of the British brigade, commanded by the Duke of Monmouth. The alliance with Catholic France was extremely unpopular and many doubted the brigade's reliability against the Dutch. As a result, it served in the Rhineland against the Holy Roman Empire, although Churchill, Monmouth and other volunteers took part in the French siege of Maastricht.

England withdrew from the war with the 1674 Treaty of Westminster, but to keep his subsidies, Charles encouraged members of the Anglo-Scots force to remain in French service; many did so, including Monmouth and Churchill, who became Colonel of one such regiment, serving under Marshal Turenne. He was present at Sinsheim in June 1674, Enzheim in October, and possibly at Sasbach in July 1675, where Turenne was killed.

thumb|upright|Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough; attributed to [[Godfrey Kneller]]

Sometime around 1675, Churchill met the 15-year-old Sarah Jennings, who came from a similar background of minor Royalist gentry, ruined by the war. The family moved to London after her father died and in 1673, Sarah and her sister Frances joined the household of Mary of Modena, James's second Catholic wife. Despite opposition from his father, who wanted him to marry the wealthy Catherine Sedley, Churchill married Sarah in the winter of 1677–78, helped by Mary.

The couple had five children who survived to adulthood: Henrietta Churchill, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough, Lady Anne Churchill, John Churchill, Marquess of Blandford, Elizabeth, and Mary.

Early service (1678–1700)

Crisis

In November 1677, William of Orange married James's eldest daughter, Mary, and in March 1678, the Earl of Danby negotiated an Anglo-Dutch defensive alliance. Churchill was sent to the Hague to make arrangements for an expeditionary force, although English troops did not arrive in significant numbers until after the Peace of Nijmegen ended the war on 10 August.

thumb|left|The Marlborough family by [[John Closterman. On the Duke's left are Elizabeth, Mary, the Duchess, Henrietta, Anne and John.]]

James publicly confirmed his conversion to Catholicism in 1673; as heir to the throne, this led to a political crisis that dominated English politics from 1679 to 1681. In the 1679 General Election, Churchill was elected MP for Newtown; the majority supported James's exclusion and he spent the next three years in exile, Churchill acting as his liaison with the court.

thumb|[[Holywell House, Hertfordshire|Holywell House, near St Albans, before its demolition in 1837]]

Charles defeated the Exclusionists and dismissed Parliament in 1681, allowing James to return to London. In 1682, Churchill was made Lord Churchill of Eyemouth in the peerage of Scotland and the following year, colonel of the King's Own Royal Regiment of Dragoons. These rewards allowed him to live in some style and comfort; in addition to a house in London, he purchased Holywell House, near St Albans. He also gained control of the Parliamentary constituency of St Albans; his brother George held the seat from 1685 to 1708.

Charles Churchill served at the Danish court, where he became friends with Prince George of Denmark, who married James's younger daughter Anne in 1683. His senior aide was Colonel Charles Griffin, brother-in-law to Sarah, appointed Lady of the Bedchamber to Anne. The Churchills and their relatives formed a central part of the so-called 'Cockpit circle' of Anne's friends, named after her apartments in Whitehall. Churchill was reportedly concerned at being too closely associated with James, particularly since Sarah's sister Frances was married to Irish Catholic Richard Talbot, appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland in 1687. This was offset by their connection with the Protestant Anne, while Sarah herself was renowned for being virulently anti-Catholic.

Rebellion

thumb|upright|left|Monmouth's execution on [[Tower Hill; the executioner reputedly needed five blows, leading to a near riot by the crowd.]]

Despite his Catholicism, James succeeded Charles as king in February 1685 with widespread support. Many feared his exclusion would lead to a repetition of the 16381651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms but tolerance for his personal beliefs did not apply to Catholicism in general. His support collapsed when his policies appeared to threaten the primacy of the Church of England and created the instability his supporters wished to avoid.

This preference for stability led to the rapid defeat in June 1685 of Argyll's Rising in Scotland and the Monmouth Rebellion in western England. In the campaign against Monmouth, Churchill led the infantry, under the command of the Earl of Feversham, at Sedgemoor on 6 July 1685, defeating the rebels and effectively putting an end to the rebellion. Although subordinate to Feversham, Churchill's administrative capacity, tactical skill, and courage in battle were pivotal in the victory.

In recognition of his contribution, he was promoted Major General and given the colonelcy of the Third Troop of Life Guards. In May, he had been made Baron Churchill of Sandridge, giving him a seat in the House of Lords, which led to the first open breach with James; Lord Delamere was accused of involvement in the rebellion and tried by 30 members of the House of Lords, including Churchill. As the most junior peer, he went first and his vote for acquittal was viewed as giving a lead to others; Delamere was set free, much to James's annoyance.

As early as 1682, Churchill was recorded as being uneasy at James's obstinacy. The conviction he was always right often resulted in what many viewed as vindictive behaviour, including Monmouth's clumsy execution and the persecution of his followers by Judge Jeffreys. This provides the immediate context for Delamere's acquittal but shortly after the Coronation, Churchill reputedly told French Protestant Henri de Massue that "If the King should attempt to change our religion, I will instantly quit his service."

Revolution

Churchill emerged from the Sedgemoor campaign with great credit, but he was anxious not to be seen as sympathetic towards the King's growing religious ardour against the Protestant establishment. James II's promotion of Catholics in royal institutions – including the army – engendered first suspicion, and ultimately sedition in his mainly Protestant subjects; even members of his own family expressed alarm at the King's zeal for Roman Catholicism.

When the queen gave birth to a son, James Francis Edward Stuart, it opened up the prospect of successive Catholic monarchs. Some in the King's service, such as the Earl of Salisbury and the Earl of Melfort, converted to Catholicism and were seen as having betrayed their Protestant upbringing to gain favour at court. Churchill remained true to his conscience, telling the King, "I have been bred a Protestant, and intend to live and die in that communion", although he was also motivated by self-interest. Believing that the monarch's policy would either wreck his own career or generate a wider insurrection, he did not intend, like his unfortunate father before him, to be on the losing side.

thumb|upright|left|Churchill (–1690) by John Closterman

Seven men met to draft the invitation to the Protestant Dutch Stadtholder, William, Prince of Orange, to invade England and assume the throne. The signatories to the letter included Whigs, Tories, and the Bishop of London, Henry Compton, who assured the Prince that, "Nineteen parts of twenty of the people ... are desirous of change".

William needed no further encouragement. Although the invitation was not signed by Churchill (he was not, as yet, of sufficient political rank), he declared his intention through William's principal English contact in The Hague: "If you think there is anything else that I ought to do, you have but to command me".

William landed at Brixham on 5 November 1688 (O.S.); from there, he moved his army to Exeter. James's forces – once again commanded by Lord Feversham – moved to Salisbury, but few of its senior officers were eager to fight – even Princess Anne wrote to William to wish him "good success in this so just an undertaking". Promoted to Lieutenant-General on 7 November (O.S.) Churchill was still at the King's side, but his displaying "the greatest transports of joy imaginable" at the desertion of Lord Cornbury led Feversham to call for his arrest. Churchill himself had openly encouraged defection to the Orangist cause, but James continued to hesitate. Soon it was too late to act. After the meeting of the council of war on the morning of 24 November (O.S.), Churchill, accompanied by some 400 officers and men, slipped from the royal camp and rode towards William in Axminster, leaving behind him a letter of apology and self-justification:

<blockquote>I hope the great advantage I enjoy under Your Majesty, which I own I would never expect in any other change of government, may reasonably convince Your Majesty and the world that I am actuated by a higher principle ...</blockquote>

When the King saw that he could not keep even Churchill – for so long his loyal servant – he despaired. James II, who in the words of the Archbishop of Rheims, had "given up three kingdoms for a Mass", fled to France, taking with him his son and heir.

William's general

thumb|upright|King William III (1650–1702); portrait by Godfrey Kneller

As part of William III and Mary II's coronation honours, Churchill was created Earl of Marlborough on 9 April 1689 (O.S.); he was also sworn as a member of the Privy Council and made a Gentleman of the King's Bedchamber. However his elevation led to accusatory rumours from King James's supporters that Marlborough had disgracefully betrayed his erstwhile king for personal gain; William himself entertained reservations about the man who had deserted James. Marlborough's apologists, including his biographer and most notable descendant, Winston Churchill, have been at pains to attribute patriotic, religious and moral motives to his action; but, in the words of David G. Chandler, it is difficult to absolve Marlborough of ruthlessness, ingratitude, intrigue and treachery against a man to whom he owed virtually everything in his life and career to date.

left|thumb|upright|Marlborough in his 30s, attributed to [[John Riley (painter, born 1646)|John Riley. The Star of the Order of the Garter was added after 1707.]]

Marlborough's first official act was to assist in the remodelling of the army: the power of confirming or purging officers and men allowed the Earl to build a new patronage network that would prove beneficial over the next two decades. His task was urgent, for less than six months after James II's departure England joined the war against France as part of a powerful coalition aimed at curtailing the ambitions of Louis XIV. With his experience it was logical that Marlborough took charge of the 8,000 English troops sent to the Low Countries in the spring of 1689; yet throughout the Nine Years' War (1688–97) he saw only three years’ service in the field, and then mostly in subordinate commands. However at the Battle of Walcourt on 25 August 1689 Marlborough won praise from the Allied commander, Prince Waldeck – "despite his youth he displayed greater military capacity than do most generals after a long series of wars ... He is assuredly one of the most gallant men I know."

Since Walcourt, though, Marlborough's popularity at court had waned. William and Mary distrusted both Lord and Lady Marlborough's influence as confidants and supporters of Princess Anne (whose claim to the throne was stronger than William's). Sarah had supported Anne in a series of court disputes with the joint monarchs, infuriating Mary, who included the Earl in her disfavour of his wife. Yet for the moment the clash of tempers was overshadowed by more pressing events in Ireland, where James had landed in March 1689 in an attempt to regain his thrones. When William left for Ireland in June 1690 Marlborough became commander of all troops and militia in England and was appointed a member of the Council of Nine to advise Mary on military matters in the King's absence, but she made scant effort to disguise her distaste at his appointment – "I can neither trust or esteem him", she wrote to William.

Reconciliation

Mary's death on 28 December 1694 (O.S.) eventually led to a formal but cool reconciliation between William III and Anne, now heir to the throne. Marlborough hoped that the rapprochement would lead to his own return to office, but although he and Lady Marlborough were allowed to return to court, the Earl received no offer of employment. Concerns over Vienna and the situation in southern Germany convinced Marlborough of the necessity of sending aid to the Danube, but the scheme of seizing the initiative from the enemy was extremely bold. From the start, the Duke resolved to mislead the States General, who would never willingly permit any major weakening of Allied forces in the Spanish Netherlands. To this end, Marlborough moved English and Dutch troops to the Moselle (a plan approved of by The Hague), but once there he planned to slip the Dutch leash and march south to link up with Austrian forces in southern Germany. Carl Piper was accused of having accepted Marlborough's bribe, advising Charles to invade Russia.</blockquote>

Throughout his travels Marlborough remained in close contact with the Electoral court of Hanover, determined to ensure a bloodless Hanoverian succession on Anne's death. He also maintained correspondence with the Jacobites. The spirit of the age saw little wrong in Marlborough's continuing friendship with his nephew, the Duke of Berwick, James II's illegitimate son with Arabella but these assurances against a Jacobite restoration (which he had been taking out since the early years of William III, no matter how insincere), stirred Hanoverian suspicions, and perhaps prevented him from holding the first place in the counsels of the future George I.

thumb|left|upright|Marlborough by Enoch Seeman. This late portrait shows Marlborough during his retirement possibly 1716/17 after his stroke.

The representatives of France, Great Britain, and the Dutch Republic signed the Treaty of Utrecht on 11 April 1713 (N.S.) – the Emperor and his German allies, including the Elector of Hanover, continued with the war before finally accepting the general settlement the following year. The Treaty marked Britain's emergence as a great power. Domestically, however, the country remained divided between Whig and Tory, Jacobite and Hanoverian factions. By now Oxford and St John (Viscount Bolingbroke since 1712) – absorbed entirely by their mutual enmity and political squabbling – had effectively wrecked the Tory administration. Marlborough had been kept well informed of events while in exile and had remained a powerful figure on the political scene, not least because of the personal attachment the Queen still retained for him. After the death of his daughter Elizabeth from smallpox in March 1714, Marlborough contacted the Queen. Although the contents of the letter are unknown, Anne may likely have summoned him home. Either way, it seems that an agreement was reached to reinstate the Duke in his former offices.

Oxford's period of predominance was now at an end, and Anne turned to Bolingbroke and Marlborough to assume the reins of government and ensure a smooth succession. However, under the weight of hostility the Queen's health, already fragile, rapidly deteriorated, and on 1 August 1714 (O.S.) – the day the Marlboroughs returned to England – she died. The Privy Council immediately proclaimed the Elector of Hanover King George I of Great Britain. The Jacobites had proved incapable of action; what Daniel Defoe called the "solidity of the constitution" had triumphed, and the regents chosen by George prepared for his arrival.

Death

The Duke's return to favour under the House of Hanover enabled him to preside over the defeat of the 1715 Jacobite rising from London (although it was his former assistant, Cadogan, who directed the operations). However, his health was fading, and on 28 May 1716 (O.S.), shortly after the death of his daughter Anne, Countess of Sunderland, he suffered a paralytic stroke at Holywell House. This was followed by another, more serious stroke in November, this time at a house on the Blenheim estate. The Duke recovered somewhat, his speech had become slightly impaired, but it was not severe and continued to improve over time and his mind remained as sharp and clear as ever. He recovered enough to ride out to watch the builders at work on Blenheim Palace and attend the Lords to vote for Oxford's impeachment.

In 1719 the Duke and Duchess were able to move into the east wing of the unfinished palace, but Marlborough had only three years to enjoy it. While living at Windsor Lodge he suffered another stroke in June 1722, not long after his 72nd birthday and slipped into a coma. Finally, at 4 a.m on 16 June (O.S.), in the presence of his wife and two surviving daughters Henrietta Godolphin and Mary Montagu, the 1st Duke of Marlborough died. He was initially buried on 9 August (O.S.) in the vault at the east end of the Henry VII Chapel in Westminster Abbey, but following instructions left by Sarah, who died in 1744, Marlborough was moved to be by her side lying in the vault beneath the chapel at Blenheim. One newspaper described how the occasion was "celebrated with unparallel'd Magnificence", a fitting end for "he, who surpass'd all the Heroes of Antiquity".

Legacy

Assessment

Historian John H. Lavalle argues that:

<blockquote>Marlborough's place as one of the finest soldiers Britain ever produced is well deserved. He possessed the personal courage, imagination, common sense, self-control, and quick wits that mark the best battlefield commanders. He had an unerring ability to sense an enemy's weaknesses and the ability to use stratagems to throw his enemy off balance.... It was in the realm of strategy, however, where Marlborough shone. As commander-in-chief of a coalition army, he could tolerate politicians, allies, and fools gladly. He also saw the potential of the recently introduced combination of flintlock and socket bayonet to restore the offensive...to warfare in an age when extensive fortifications, magazines, and the defensive dominated military thinking. Marlborough's attention to logistics allowed him to break free of the bonds of the magazine system and ensured that his soldiers were fed, clothed, and paid, earning him the loyalty of his troops and the nickname "Corporal John".</blockquote>

Marlborough was equally adept at both battle and siege. Robert Parker, who served under Marlborough, writes:

<blockquote>in the ten campaigns he made against [the French]; during all which time it cannot be said that he ever slipped an opportunity of fighting when there was any probability of coming at his enemy: and upon all occasions he concerted matters with so much judgment and forecast, that he never fought a battle which he did not gain, nor laid siege to a town which he did not take.</blockquote>

Sicco van Goslinga, a Dutch field deputy who worked closely with Marlborough, frequently praised his military abilities and considered him a genius, but gave a mixed view of Marlborough's personal character. In Van Goslinga's opinion, Marlborough often faked his sincerity along with being overly ambitious and greedy. He also wrote that

He [Marlborough] was sometimes indecisive, especially on the eve of some great undertaking, shrank from difficulties, and sometimes allowed himself to be beaten down by adversity... He knows little about military discipline and gives too much freedom to the soldiers, causing them to commit horrible excesses.</blockquote>

thumb|Resting place of the Duke and Duchess in the chapel at Blenheim Palace

To military historians David Chandler and Richard Holmes, Marlborough is the greatest British commander in history, an assessment that is shared by others, including the Duke of Wellington who could "conceive nothing greater than Marlborough at the head of an English army". However the 19th century Whig historian Thomas Macaulay denigrated Marlborough throughout the pages of his History of England. In the words of historian John Wilson Croker he pursued the Duke with "more than the ferocity, and much less than the sagacity, of a bloodhound", though according to G. M. Trevelyan Macaulay "instinctively desired to make Marlborough's genius stand out bright against the background of his villainy". It was largely in response to Macaulay that a descendant, Winston Churchill, wrote his laudatory biography, Marlborough: His Life and Times (4 vol. 1933–1938).

Unlike Macaulay, the 19th-century Dutch military historian Willem Jan Knoop criticised not only Marlborough’s character but also his generalship. In Knoop's view, Marlborough was hardly comparable to Wellington, and his successes were largely owed to the quality of the Dutch troops, skilled subordinates, cooperation with Prince Eugene, and the ineptitude of his opponents. While less harsh, the modern American historian Cathal Nolan echoed Knoop's assessment, stating: <blockquote>The main reasons for his successes were Britain’s rising military power, critical Dutch and English finance, very fine Dutch and British troops, many able subordinates, and an equally talented co-commander in Prince Eugene of Savoy.</blockquote>

Marlborough was ruthlessly ambitious, and relentless in the pursuit of wealth, power, and social advancement, earning him a reputation for avarice and miserliness. These traits may have been exaggerated for party faction but, notes Trevelyan, nearly all other statesmen of the day were engaged in founding families and amassing estates at the public expense; Marlborough only differed in that he gave the public much more value for their money. In his quest for fame and personal interests he could be unscrupulous, as his desertion of James II testifies. To Macaulay this is regarded as a piece of selfish treachery against his patron; an analysis shared by G. K. Chesterton, a devout Catholic: <blockquote>Churchill, as if to add something ideal to his imitation of Iscariot, went to James with wanton professions of love and loyalty ... and then calmly handed over the army to the invader. To the finish of this work of art but few could aspire, but to their degree, all the politicians of the Revolution were upon this ethical pattern.</blockquote> To Trevelyan, Marlborough's behaviour during the 1688 revolution was a sign of his "devotion to the liberties of England and the Protestant religion". However, his continuing correspondence with Saint-Germain was not noble. Although Marlborough did not wish for a Jacobite restoration his double-dealing ensured that William III and George I would never be fully disposed to trust him.

Marlborough's weakness during Anne's reign lay in the English political scene. His determination to preserve the independence of the Queen's administration from the control of the party faction initially enjoyed full support, but once royal favour turned elsewhere, the Duke, like his key ally Godolphin, found himself isolated; first becoming little more than a servant of the Whigs, then a victim of the Tories.

Captain-General

thumb|upright|Blenheim Column of Victory on the grounds of the Blenheim estate, [[Oxfordshire]]

On the grand strategic level, Marlborough had a rare grasp of the broad issues involved and was able from the start of the War of the Spanish Succession to see the conflict in its entirety. He was one of the few influences working towards genuine unity within the Grand Alliance, but the extension of the war aims to include the replacement of Philip V as King of Spain was a fatal mistake. Marlborough stands accused – possibly for political and diplomatic reasons – of not pressing his private doubts about reinforcing failure. Spain proved a continuous drain of men and resources and ultimately hampered his chances of complete success in Flanders, the war's main theatre. This was accomplished mostly due to Marlborough's fruitful cooperation with Dutch officials and commanders, who made use of the Dutch Republic's efficient supply lines on campaign. Marlborough's concern for the welfare of the common soldier together with his ability to inspire trust and confidence, and his willingness to share the dangers of battle, often earned him adulation from his men – "The known world could not produce a man of more humanity", observed Corporal Matthew Bishop. It was this range of abilities that make Marlborough outstanding. The heraldic achievement shown here also represents the 1st Duke's lands in Mindelheim.

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Notes

References

Sources

6 volumes.
3 volumes.