John Churchill Duke of Marlborough

26 May 1650-1722

Background and childhood

Unlike the present day Marlboroughs John Churchill was not born well nor rich. His grandfather John Churchill was an attorney in county Dorset who took up arms for the crown in the civil war. His father Winston Churchill took the same side and was a succesful commander in the royalist forces as well as the writer of a pro-royalist book on heraldry. Being on the losing side in the civil war the Churchill's were quite heavily punished by parliament. Winston was however lucky in having married into a family who had sided with parliament. Even though this Drake family had also been ruined by the civil war the Churchills thus found shelter at Ashe house near Axminster till the restoration. It is said that Churchill's character was formed in this house were two families of quite opposing views lived together in poverty. Though proving it is of course impossible it forms a logical explanation for some of the major traits of his character. Firstly his well known ability to dissimulate his feelings that would have come in very handy in such a household. Secondly his life long ambition to gain financial independence, a goal which he would attain for even the present day generation of his descendants. Finally the avarice for which he would become known in the whole of Europe.

In the service of Prince James

Early Career

With the restoration the Churchills' fortunes were somewhat revived and Winston was elected to parliament in 1661. Somewhere around 1665 John Churchill started his career as a page to the Duke of York just at about the same time as his sister Arabella became a lady in waiting to the Duchess of York. Arabella became the mistress of the Duke of York and thus made quite a career at court, but I cannot judge whether John got any advantage from this fact that he would not have secured with his own abilities and good looks. Anyhow, John's appointment as an ensign in one of the guard companies came on 14 September 1667 and so his career started. It is deduced that John got his first front line experience while serving in Tangier from 1668 till 1670 and that he served a marine on the Mediterranean fleet during this period. Early 1671 John returned to England and started an affair with Barbara Villiers, Duchess of Cleveland, the mistress of Charles II and also a distant relative of John. This affair would last till 1675. The affair would also become the starting point of his fortune: One day when Charles II entered her bedroom John saved her honor by making a dangerous jump out of the window, a feat for which Barbara gave him 5,000 pounds. It is supposed that John used this money to buy the annuity of 4,500 pounds that gave him 500 pounds a year, a rather rare action for a young officer.

It was during the 1672 war with the United Provinces that John Churchill saw action again. On 13 March (before war had been declared) he was on the fleet that performed a treacherous and failed attack on the Dutch Smyrna fleet anchored near Whight. Next John was on the united Anglo-French fleet that was fitting out at Solebay. When it was attacked by De Ruijter on 7 June John was part of the company that was on the Flagship Royal Prince. The Royal Prince came under such heavy attack that the flag had to be transferred, but John seems to have fought very well in this lost battle. Afterwards he was promoted from ensign to captain of the marines on 13 June 1672 (thus skipping lieutenant).

In December 1672 his admiralty regiment went to France and so did John. He next saw action at the siege of Maastricht in 1673 as a gentleman volunteer. He performed his most famous deed at Maastricht when he participated in repulsing a Dutch counterattack together with Monmouth and D'Artagnan (who got killed in this action). Soon afterwards Maastricht capitulated and John Churchill went home. That fall he would again serve under Turenne in Westphalia, but peace with Holland ended this war in February 1674. One would expect that this meant that all English troops returned immediately, but this was not the case. Only part of the troops returned immediately and John got an appointment as a French colonel on 13 April 1704 in order to command an English regiment that remained in French service. With them he fought in the battle of Sinzheim in June 1674 and also at Enzheim in October and Türckheim in December of that same year.

Sarah Jennings

In the beginning of 1675 John Churchill was still in France, but it seems quite sure he did not see any combat that year. He did however become a Lieutenant Colonel in the regiment of the Duke of York in January 1675. August 1675 also saw him on his first diplomatic mission, that brought him back to Paris. It is supposed that this was about securing a subsidy from Louis, but this is not certain. It seems he left France in October. Later that year he met Sarah Jennings and fell in love with her, but did not achieve his goals for some time. In 1676 his attempts to conquer Sarah were noted in the diplomatic correspondence of the French Ambassador. He remarked that Churchill preferred to serve the sister of Lady Hamilton rather that serving as a Lieutenant Colonel in Monmouth's regiment. Loving Sarah would however mean marrying her, and this was the main problem for the couple. When they married people would expect them to live according to their rank, and for this they lacked the means. It seems that Mary of Modena solved this problem somehow and the marriage came about in the winter of 1677-1678. The Churchills circumstances stayed mediocre however, and so Sarah and John had to live with his father Winston.

Diplomacy

On 18 February 1678 John Churchill finally became a Colonel. On 5 April 1678 he then left England in order to negotiate with the Spanish at Brussels about a possible English participation in the coming campaign against France. He next continued to The Haque where he concluded a treaty with William III, promising 20,000 men to him. On 1 may he was appointed to command an English brigade, but even though he left for the continent in September, the war was ended by the treaty of Nijmegen before he could prove his skill at commanding.

Exile to the low Countries and Scotland

In the winter of 1678 John returned to England. The fall of the Danby ministry and the rows created by Titus Oates then succeeded in causing the banishment of the Duke of York, who left for Holland. This meant that John and Sarah were forced to accompany James in his exile first to Holland in March 1679 and later to Brussels. John accompanied him on a clandestine visit to England, and was again sent on a diplomatic mission to Louis, but these were both without lasting effects. It was in October that James finally left his exile in order to travel to Scotland, arriving there late in 1679. John accompanied him, but the pregnant Sarah stayed in London and gave birth to a son who died quickly. This exile was ended when James and John returned to England early in 1680.

Having grown to be one of the first confidants of James John could now expect to get a profitable appointment. For some time the court deliberated on the ambassadorship to the United Provinces or France, but fear of the Whiggish parliament made Charles order James to leave again for Scotland in October. This time both Churchills left for Edinburgh. After having received a royal appointment James started to tyrannize Scotland in order to secure his succession there, and expected Churchill to exert himself to secure James' succession in England. While Churchill personally did not agree with this policy it is prove of his abilities that James did not suspect his true feelings. When they returned to England in the summer of 1682 Churchill was rewarded with the barony of Aymouth in Scotland.

Holywell House

With Charles II securely on the throne the Churchills could again participate in court life, and it is said that he and Godolphin regularly played tennis with King Charles. In December 1683 he became colonel of the Royal Dragoons, a very profitable commission. Somewhere around 1684 the Churchills built Holywell house on land belonging to Sara. It was here that their family life began to blossom with their daughters Henrietta and Anna. In July 1683 John was sent to Denmark to accompany Prince George of Denmark to London for a marriage to Princes Anne, James' daughter. The foundation for the Churchills' fortunes was then laid when Anne asked her friend Sarah to become a lady in waiting in her new household.

In the service of King James

Sedgemoor

After the death of Charles II on 6 February 1685 James ascended to the crown. Churchill was immediately sent to Paris to thank Louis XIV for some subsidies. After his return to England he was made an English peer as Baron Churchill of Sandridge. He also became governor of the Hudson Bay Company, a profitable post. In June Charles' bastard son Monmouth landed in England and started a rebellion to win the crown, this even though the ruling classes supported the new king. Churchill was promoted a brigade general and led troops against this rebellion, but the supreme command was with the Frenchman Feversham. The rebellion culminated in the battle of Sedgemoor, where Monmouth performed a surprise attack on the royal troops. Though Feversham was rewarded for winning the battle, public opinion saw John Churchill as the man responsible for the success. After the battle John heard that he had been promoted Major General on 3 July.

Cracks in John Churchill's loyalty

With the victory over the rebels John's royal master now became overconfident. He took measures to increase the royal army and fill it with catholic officers. Up till then John had never had to take a position against the king, but now he did: In a trial against Lord Delamere in January 1686, he was one of the pairs that had to pronounce him guilty or innocent. Much to James' displeasure John was the first to pronounce a 'not guilty' in this trial. James now continued his policy of appointing Catholics everywhere and firing Protestants. In short he succeeded in estranging from his rule those that had supported him against Monmouth. John probably appreciated that this policy could only lead to James' ruin. He therefore spoke with the Dutch, wrote to William III and tried to get a post as commander of the British troops in Dutch service, but above all he associated himself with the protestant princess Anne.

Salisbury

Some of the most influential lords now 'officially' invited William III to invade England. John also sided irrevocably with him by writing a letter to William by which he promised his support. When William landed in southern England on 5 November 1688 James reacted by sending his army to concentrate at Salisbury. Feversham was again in command of the English army, and that may very well have been the reason James promoted John to Lieutenant General on 7 November. Anyhow, the first reverse for the Royal army was that Lord Cornbury left the camp and deserted to William III with 200 men. John had long been bent on switching sides and when he saw that a general conspiracy in the army wouldn't succeed, he left the army in the night of 23-24 November together with 400 officers and men. Is seems that together with other desertions this was enough for James to lose the will to fight, and so William ascended the throne without bloodshed.

The Churchills under William III

The crown for William and Mary

After James had left England it was however by no means certain that William would become king. Even if one could agree on the crown having fallen of James' head, Mary would be the heir, not William. Even if one agreed upon William and Mary becoming joint sovereigns the crown would be law divulge to Anne in case Mary would die before William. In this affair the Churchills rendered William an important service when Sarah convinced Anne to give up her rights during the life of William. Churchill was confirmed in his rank of Lieutenant General, and under the supreme authority of Marshall Schomberg he started work on reorganizing the English army. Further favor followed in April 1689 when Churchill became Count of Marlborough at the coronation ceremonies.

Walcourt

In May war was declared on France and Marlborough was sent to Flanders to command the English expedition forces. His forces became part of the army of the prince of Waldeck and were soon reckoned to be among the best of the army. In August Waldeck marched to Walcourt and took that city. On 25 August skirmishes then led to French Marshal d'Humières ordering an attack on Walcourt, and when this didn't work the French extended their attacks to the grounds east and west of the city. The allies then counter attacked with Slangenburgh leading their western wing and Marlborough the eastern. The French were broken and had to leave with losses of 2,000 men for the allies 300. Credit for the victory this time did go to Marlborough and next to his other appointments he got the profitable charge of colonel in the Royal Fuseliers.

Caught between two sisters

In return for her flexibility regarding the crown Anne now wanted to have parliament grant her an addition to her personal income, a wish that didn't please William and Mary. This led to quite a fight between the two sisters and the Marlboroughs were kind of caught in between with John serving William and Sarah serving Anne. Anne finally won this battle, but at the price of a rift in her relation to Mary.

Cork and Kinsale

In 1690 it was necessary for William to go to Ireland in order to defeat James. Marlborough was left in London and became part of the council of nine that had to assist Mary in government. When the lost battle of Beachy Head gave France supremacy of the sea Marlborough's first priority was the organization of forces to withstand a French invasion. After William's victory at the Boyne Marlborough came up with a plan. It was to conquer the harbours of Cork and Kinsale that kept the rebels communication to France. In August 1690 William wrote his permission to Marlborough who sailed on 17 September. With about 6,000 men Marlborough landed at Cork where he was joined by about 5,000 men sent by Ginckel. On 27 September Cork surrendered at discretion. He next went to Kinsale which fell to him on 15 October. Though by no means spectacular this little expedition had sealed the fate of Ireland, and Marlborough again got his credits.

Conflict with William

In the 1691 campaign Marlborough again commanded the English contingent in the allied army, but did not come in a position where he could achieve a success. Irritated by this and the fact that all royal favor went to William's Dutch favorites he started to campaign for changes late in 1691. Combined with the fact that he was suspected of plotting with Saint Germain and that tensions between Mary and Anne were running high again the king took a decision. In January 1692 Marlborough was sacked from all his appointments and required to leave the court. Soon his situation became worse when a conspiracy and a forged document landed him in the Tower from 4 May till 15 June. He was however acquitted in this case. Later historians have accused Marlborough of sending the Camaret Bay letter in May 1694, betraying the expedition to Brest to the French. This letter however only exists in a French translation and might very well be a forgery.

Anne moves up in the line of succession

On 28 December 1694 Mary died and a formal reconciliation between William and Anne now came about. For Marlborough this meant he theoretically got somewhat closer to power, but William did not let him get closer. Indeed Marlborough was implied in a new conspiration: Jacobite conspirators had planned the assassination of William on 15 February 1696 but it failed, and Sir John Fenwick was tried as one of the conspirators. Fenwick now accused Marlborough, Godolphin, Russel and Shrewsbury of connections with Saint Germain, but these accusations were rejected by William. Marlborough then worked steadily towards his goal and Fenwick was executed in January 1697.

Marlborough reconciled with the king

It may have been that William looked far into the future and this made him bring about the reconciliation with Marlborough. However that may be, on 16 June 1698 it was announced that Marlborough became the governor of William of Gloucester and was reinstated in his dignity as member of the Privy Council and in all his military ranks. When William left for Holland in July 1698 Marlborough was even appointed as one of the nine members of a regency council. The death of the Duke of Gloucester on 30 July 1700 did not bring Marlborough out of William's favor. On a personal level the Marlboroughs saw their eldest daughter Henrietta married to the son of Godolphin in 1698. 1700 would see the marriage of their second daughter Anne to Lord Spencer, the son of Lord Sunderland.

Marlborough and the beginning of the Spanish Succession War

Marlborough thus continued in high favor, and for a time there were even rumors that he would become one of the secretaries for foreign affairs. The crisis brought about by the Spanish Succession would however have a dramatic effect on Marlborough's career. On 31 May 1701 he was appointed supreme commander of English forces in the Low Countries, on 28 June he was named ambassador extraordinary to the United Provinces, and on 1 July they both went to Holland. Here he negotiated the treaty of the Grand Alliance that founded the new coalition against Louis XIV. When the king died early in 1702 he had already transferred his foreign policy to Marlborough.

Serving Queen Anne

From 1702 onwards Queen Anne became Marlborough's master. I hope to write about this later on.

Aspects of Marlborough's generalship

Marlborough is famous for three great victories; Blenheim, Ramillies and Oudenaerde, and the pyrrhic victory of Malplaquet. One can argue that these 3 great victories were made possible by the mistakes of his enemies, but this is a wrong way to appreciate these battles. Fought with about equal or slightly averse numbers his aggressiveness and skillful maneuvering combined with the flawlessness of his conduct of battles gave Marlborough these victories. Had his aggression not been hindered by the Dutch he could no doubt have won such battles in 1702 and 1705 (but could also have fought a Malplaquet in 1703). What furthermore made him special was his ability to exploit success in battle: after a lot of victories we see him aggressively pursuing the beaten enemy, maximizing the effect of victory. Last but not least Marlborough no doubt had the eye of the master in managing an army. He looked after everything the army needed: pay, supplies, arms, maintenance, healthcare, all in such a way that for those who say battles are won in their preparation Marlborough would always win.

To sum it up

Career

Service

Sources

The Duke of Marlborough is so famous that a constant source of biographies has been published about him. It all started with Lediard, got to a peak with Winston Churchill's biography and continues to date. I here give some highlights: