CHUR 
mouth’s rebellion; which he did in.ajnonth’s time, with 
an inconfiderable body of horfe, and took the duke prifo- 
ner. He was extremely well received by the king at his 
return from this victory; but loon ddeemed, as it is laid, 
the bad eff'e< 5 ts it produced, by confirming the king in an 
epinion that, by virtue of a (landing army, the religion 
and government of England might eafily be changed. 
How far lord Churchill concurred with or oppofed the 
king, while he was forming this proje£t,is hardly known. 
He does not appear to have been guilty of any mean com¬ 
pliances, or to have had any concern in advifing or exe¬ 
cuting the violent proceedings of that unhappy reign : 
on the contrary, bilhop Burnet tells us, that. “ he very 
prudently declined meddling much in bufinefs, fpoke 
little except when-his advice was afked, and then always 
recommended moderate meafures.” It is faid he declared 
very early to lord Galway, that if his mailer attempted to 
overturn theeftabiilhed religion, he would leave him ; and 
that he figned the memorial tranfmitted to the prince and 
princefs of Orange, by which they were invited to relcue 
this nation from popery and (lavery. Be this as it will, 
it is certain that he remained with the king, and was en- 
trufted by him, after the prince of Orange was landed in 
1688. He attended king James when he marched with 
his forces to oppofe the prince, and had the command of 
5000 men ; yet the earl of Feverfliam, fufpe&ing his in¬ 
clinations, advifed the king to feize him. The king’s af¬ 
fection to him was fo great, that he could not be prevailed 
upon to do it; and this left him at liberty to go over to 
the prince, which accordingly he did, but without be¬ 
traying any poll or carrying off any troops. Whoever con- 
fiders the great obligations lord Churchill lay under to 
king James, muff naturally conclude, that he could not 
take the refolutio'n of leaving him, and withdrawing to 
the prince of Orange, but with infinite concern and re¬ 
gret ; and that this was really the cafe, appears from a 
letter, which he left for the king, to (hew the reafons of 
his conduct, and to exprefs his grief for the dep he was 
obliged to take. 
Lord Churchill was gracioufly received by the prince of 
Orange ; and it is fuppofed to have been in confequence 
of his lordlhip’s lolicitation, that prince George of Den¬ 
mark took the lame (tep, as his confort the princefs Anne 
did alio loon after, by the advice of lady Churchill. He 
was entrulled in that critical conjuncture by the prince of 
Orange, fir ft to re-aflemble his troop of guards at London, 
and afterwards to reduce fome lately railed regiments, and 
to new model the army, for which purpofe he was invelted 
with the rank and title of lieutenant-general. The prince 
and princefs of Orange being declared king and queen of 
England, February 6, 1689, lord Churchill was on the 14th 
fworn of their privy council, and one of the gentlemen of 
the bed-chamber to the king; and on the 9th of April 
following raifed to the dignity of earl of Marlborough in 
the county of Wilts. He ailided at the coronation of 
their majefties, and was loon after made commander in 
chief of the Englilli forces fent over to Holland. He pre- 
fided at the battle of Walcourt, April 15, 1689, and gave 
fuch extraordinary proofs of his (kill, that prince Wal- 
deck, lpeaking in his commendation to king William, 
declared, that “ he faw more into the art of war in a day, 
than fome generals in many years.” It is to be obferved, 
that king William commanded this year in Ireland, which 
was the reafon of the earl of Marlborough’s being at the 
head of the Englilh troops in Holland ; where he laid the 
foundation of that fame among foreigners, which he'after¬ 
wards extended all over Europe. He next did great ler- 
vices forking William in Ireland, by reducing Cork, and 
fome other places of much importance ;- in all which he 
Ihewed fuch uncommon abilities, that, on his firlt appear¬ 
ance at court after his return, the king was pleated to fay, 
that “ he knew no man fo fit for a general, who had feen 
fo few campaigns.” All thefe fervices, notwithftanding, 
did not prevent his being difgraced in a very ludden man¬ 
ner : for, being in waiting at court as lord of the bed- 
VOL. IV. No. ■ 
CHILL. 581 
chamber, and having introduced to his majeffy IordGeorge 
Hamilton, he was foon followed to his own houle by the 
fame lord, with this Ihort and furprifing mefiage, “ That 
the king had no farther occafion for his lervic.esthe 
more furprifing, as his majelty juft before had not difeo- 
vered the leall coldnefs or difpleafure towards him. The 
caufe of this difgrace is not even at prefent known ; but 
only fufpedted to have proceeded from his too clofe attach¬ 
ment to the intereft of the princefs Anne. This ftrange 
and unexpected blow was followed by one much Itranger, 
for foon after lie was committed to the Tower for high 
treafon; but was releafed, and acquitted, upon the whole 
being difeovered to be nothing more than the effefts of a 
vile confpiracy dgainft him. 
After the queen’s death, when the interefts of the two 
courts were brought to a better agreement, king William 
thought fit to-recal the earl of Marlborough to his privy 
council ; and in June 1698, appointed him governor to 
the duke of Gloucefter, with this extraordinary compli¬ 
ment, “ My lord, make him but what you are, and my 
nephew will be all I wilh to fee him.” He continued in 
favour to the king's death, as appears from his having- 
been three times appointed one of the lords juftices during 
his abfence; namely, July 16, 16985 May 31, 1699 5 and 
June a'7, 1700. As foon as it was dilcerned, that the 
death of Charles II. of Spain would become the occafion 
of another general war, the king fent a body of troops 
over to Holland, and made lord Marlborough commancler 
in chief of them. He appointed him alfo ambaffador ex¬ 
traordinary and minuter plenipotentiary to their high 
mightinelTes. Upon which he went immediately to Hol¬ 
land. The king following, and taking a view of the lorces, 
dined with him at his quarters in September 1700 ; and 
this was one of the lalt favours he received from king 
William, who died the 8th of March following, unlels 
we reckon his recommendation of him to the princefs of 
Denmark, ajittle before his death, as the fitted perfon to 
be truited.with the command of the army, which was to 
proteft the liberties of Europe. About a week after the 
king’s death, he was elected, by queen Anne, knight of 
the garter, and captain-general of all her majelly’s forces, 
upon which he was immediately fent over to the Hague 
with the fame character that he had filled the year before. 
Mis ltay in Holland was very Ihort; jalt long enough to 
give the Hates general the neceffary alfurances of his mif- 
trels’s mfeere intention to purfue the plan that had for¬ 
merly been fettled. The dates concurred with him in 
all that he propofed, and made him captain-general of 
their forces, appointing him 100,000 florins per annum. 
On his return to England, he found the queen’s coun¬ 
cil greatly divided ; fome being for carrying on the war 
as auxiliaries only, others for openly declaring againlt 
France and Spain immediately. The earl of Marlbo¬ 
rough joined with the latter; and thefe carrying their 
point, war was declared May 4, 1702. The earl took the 
command June 20; and dilcerning that the dates were 
made uneafy by the places which the enemy heid on their 
frontiers, he began with attacking and reducing them. 
Accordingly, in this Angle campaign, he made himfelf 
mailer of the cattles of Gravenbroeck and Waerts, the 
towns of Verrio, Ruremond, and Stevenfwaert, together 
with the city and citadel of Liege. Thefe advantages 
were confiderable, and acknowledged as fuch by the 
dates; but they had like to have been of a very Ihort date : 
for, the army ieparating in the neighbourhood of Liege, 
November 3, the earl was dopped next day in his paf- 
fuge by water, by a finall party of thirty men from the 
garrifon at Gueldres ; but it being towards night, and 
the earl infilling upon an old pals given to his brother, and 
now out of date, was fuffered to proceed, and arrived at 
the Hague, when they were in the utinoft conllernation 
at the accident which had befallen him. The-winter ap¬ 
proaching, he embarked for England, and arrived in Lon¬ 
don November 28. The queen had been complimented 
lbrne time before, by both houfes of parliament, on the 
7 I fuccels 
