

be erd under King Wrliam on the continent; but 

 early in I W he w ubjected to a very sudden loss c 

 f, Jur, hi. "several office, being taken from him and 

 given to others. H,. di.minal was followed by a st.ll 

 ttroneer measure, that of his commitment to the Tower, 



h he was not released for several monthi. 

 : charge was brought against him, and the matter 

 u involve! in uncertainty. Before this time differ- 

 , tud amen between Queen Mary and her sister the 

 Anne The Earl and Countess of Marlborough 

 attached to the latter, were sharers in her loss ol 

 favour. King William had been elevated, in the 

 of the Revolution, to the utter exclusion ol 

 i son j a .tep considerably beyond the calculations 

 r tno* who called him over from Holland, and not ren- 

 dered acceptable by any thing inviting or pleasant 

 William', manner. His confidence and his favour seem- 

 cd to centre in foreigner., while English officer, and 

 noblemen were kept at a great distance, bympath 

 the fallen king operated in concurrence with the* 

 cumstances ; and we accordingly find from Dalrymple 

 and Macpherwn's State Paper., that a secret correspon- 

 dence was carried on by Godolphin, Russel, Marlborough, 

 and other men of consequence, with the court of St Ger. 

 mains. To .omc discovery of this nature, wa. probably 

 owine the disgrace of Marlborough. That fam.ly pique 

 entered likewise into it is apparent, from the circum- 

 stance of an approximation between him and K-ing w 

 liam after the death of Queen Mary. It was evident- 

 ly William's policy to be in good terms with a person so 

 dear to 'the Princess Anne ; but it is farther apparent, 

 from the confidential business entrusted to Marlborough 

 in the last three years of his reign, that all distrust of 

 him was banished from hi mind. At the approach of 

 death, W.lliam, with whom opposition to France was 

 always uppermost, recommended Marlborough as the 

 mott proper person to be entrusted with the command 

 of the army destined to protect the liberty of Europe. 



We are now arrived at the memorable arra in Marlbo- 

 roueh's life, when the command of the allied forces, and 

 the management of our foreign alliances, were vested in 

 bis person. This took place in the beginning of 1 <02, 

 when he was in his 52d year, possessing the full advan- 

 tage of matured experience, without any loss of consti- 

 tutional activity. The unlimited favour of the queen, 

 and the confidence of the allies, speedily acquired by en- 

 gaging manners and brilliant success., soon gave him a 

 more complete controul over the military engine which 

 he wielded than is common in a war of coalition. All 

 this, however, was requisite; for France, flushed with 

 former triumphs and recent acquisitions, was on the 

 point of giving law to Europe. Louis XIV. had reign- 

 ed forty years, and conducted three great wars, in the 

 iure of 



, 



course of which the French armies had received hardly 

 a .ingle overthrow. At first he appeared to consider the 

 campaign on the Dutch frontier, as a secondary part of 

 the war, but Marlborough's progress soon taught him 

 to view it in a different light. Had not the caution of 

 the Dutch been opposed to offensive oparations, there 

 can be little doubt that the Duke, instead of merely ta- 

 king fortified town., and obliging the French to keep on 

 the defensive during 1702 and 1703, would have accele- 

 rated the progress of the war, and inflicted on them a 

 ignal overthrow. It was not till 170* that the Duke, 

 being allowed to take the allied troop, into Germany, 

 and being consequently removed from unwise controul, 

 thone forth in the true lustre of hi. talents. In that 



CHURCHILL. 



campaign he co-operated with Prince Eugene, with 

 whom his uninterrupted cordiality i. a circumstance hig .- _ 

 ly honourable to both, and not often exemplified in mili- 

 tary history. The victory of Blenheim was the first 

 fruits of their harmony, and accomplished the ilrliverance 

 of the impcror from imminent danger. Next year, 

 Marlborough advanced towards the MoM.-lle, on the plan 

 of carrying on the war in the open country of Lorraine, 

 and avoiding the delay inseparable from a succession of 

 sieges. But this bold and judicious scheme was thwart- 

 ed by the incurable slowness of the Germans, who failed 

 in alrthcir engagements, and made it necessary for the 

 Duketo carry back the scene of operations into Flanders. 

 It was on this occasion that Marshal VilUrs was first op- 

 posed to Marlborough. Villain was an able officer, and 

 particularly skilful in the choice of defensive positions ; 

 but his vanity went beyond all bounds, and he took 

 himself the whole credit of the Duke's retreat, though it 

 was owing chiefly to a different cause. 



The year 1706 was defined to present a very t 

 rent spectacle. The Duke had by this time, partly by 

 weight of reputation, partly by his persuasive powers, 

 succeeded in prevailing on the Dutch to leave him un- 

 fettered in the command of the allied troops. 

 he could not, as he once intended, proceed to Italy will 

 a force calculated to give to affairs, in that quarter, * 

 turn similar to that of 1704 in Germany, he found means 

 to send a body of Prussians to reinforce Prince Eugene, 

 and afford him the means of acting on the offensive. 

 This, along with the boldness of the Prince's tactics, led 

 to the victory of Turin, and the deliverance of Pied, 

 In the Low Countries, Marlborough signalized himse 

 by the victory of Ramillies, a battle which, whether we 

 consider it in itself, or in its results, was one of the i 

 remarkable in history. It was planned altogct er bj 

 himself, and was decided at a time of the day, which 

 sufficient room to follow it up efl.-ctually. 

 quence was, the dispersion of the French forces, and the 

 almost total fall of Austrian Flanders ; all this too against 

 an enemy who had marched to attack him in the full 

 confidence of triumph. A decisive turn was now given 

 to the war. Louis, humbled by the loss of Piedmont 

 and Belgium, gave over the hope of dictating laws to 

 Europef and began to discover a disposition to peace. 

 Next year however, he threw an additional mass o\ force 

 on the side of the Low Countries, which, joined to the 

 cautious tactics of Vendosme, prevented Marlborough 

 from making much progress This, together with tl 

 success attendant on the French arms in Spam and in 

 Provence, revived the hopes of that easily exalted people, 

 and led, in 1708, to the resumption of offensive opera- 

 tions in Flanders. Marlborough was not long ir 

 king them repent their audacity, by the victory of 

 dcnarde, where daylight alone was wanting to make their 

 loss as great as at" Ramillies. Next came the siege of 

 Lisle, an enterprise of great boldness, and prompted pro- 

 bably by Prince Eugene, who had now taken leave ol 

 Piedmont, and acted in Flanders along with Marlb 



""rVe year 1709 was remarkable for the dearly bought 

 victory of Malplaquet, in which the loss on both side., 

 in killed and wounded, was hardly short of 4O.OOO mer 

 Thi. carnarge was occasioned by ^"ft*^,** 

 French position, which, .trong in uself, had been for 

 fied with great care and expedition by Marshal V.ll 

 The determination to attack it originated, there seems 

 little doubt, with Prince Eugene. Such a measure ac- 

 corded with his bold plan of war, and the responsibility 

 i, decidedly put on him in the book that goes by the 



Churchill, 

 Jobn. 



