MARLBOROUGH, marrbilr-b, or John Churchill, DUKE OF, English eral and statesman : b. Ashe, Devonshire, 1650; d. Blenheim, 16 June 1722. At 12 he became page to the Duke of York (afterward James II), by whom at 16 he was appointed an ensign. He was present at the siege of Tangiers and soon after his return rose to the rank of tain. In 1672 he accompanied the Duke of Monmouth to assist Turenne against the Dutch. At the siege of Maestricht he distinguished himself so highly as to obtain the public thanks of the king of France. On his return to land he was made lieutenant-colonel and his advancement was rapid. He had a regiment of dragoons presented to him and strengthened his influence at court by his marriage with Sarah Jennings, an attendant upon the princess, ward Queen Anne. In 1682 he obtained the title of Baron of Aymouth and on the sion of lames II was sent Ambassador to France and soon after his return created Baron Churchill of Sandbridge and raised to the rank of general. The same year he suppressed the rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth. On the arrival of the Prince of Orange he joined him at Axminster and was rewarded by the earldom of Marlborough and the appointment of com mander-in-chief of the English army in the Low Countries. The following year he served in Ireland, where he reduced Cork, Kinsale and other places. In 1691 he was suddenly dis missed from all his employments and committed to the Tower on the charge of high treason, but soon obtained his release; though it appears that the suspicions against him were not without foundation. On the death of Queen Mary he was made a privy councillor and appointed governor to the young Duke of Gloucester; and in 1701 was created by King William commander-in-chief of the English forces in Holland and Ambassador Plenipotentiary to the States-General. On the accession of Queen
Anne in 1702 he was created captain-general of all the forces at home and abroad and sent Plenipotentiary to The Hague. There he was also made captain-general by the States. In the campaign of the same year he drove the French out of Spanish Guelders and took Liege and other towns, for which he was created Duke of Marlborough. In 1704 he stormed the French and Bavarian lines at DonauwOrth, and in the same year, with Prince Eugene, gained the victory of Blenheim (13 August) over the French and Bavarians, headed by Marshal Tal lard and the Elector of Bavaria. The nation testified its gratitude by voting him the manor of Woodstock and Blenheim Palace, one of the finest seats in the kingdom. In the campaign of 1707 his antagonist was the famous Due de Vendome, over whom he gained no advantage; and on his return he found that his popularity at court was on the decline, this being said to be due to his avarice. In 1708, with Prince Eugene, he gained the battle of Oudenarde. In 1709 he defeated Marshal Villars at Mal plaquet (11 September) though at a cost ill repaid by the capture of Mons, and in 1710 with Prince Eugene gained another victory over Villars. During his absence a new ministry, hostile to himself, was chosen, and on his re turn his command was taken from him and a prosecution commenced against him for apply ing the public money to private purposes. He went in disgust to the Low Countries in 1712, but returned a short time before the queen's death, and on the accession of George I was reinstated in the supreme military command. Consult Coxe, 'Memoirs of the Duke of Marl borough' (1847-48) ; Alison, 'Military Life of the Duke of Marlborough' (1879) ; Saintsbury, ( Marlborough ' ( 1879 ) .