5§2 C H U R ( 
t- 
fuccefs of her arms in Flanders; in confequence of which, 
there had been a public thankfgi viiig November 4, when 
her majelty went in great ftate to St. Paul’s. Soon after 
a committee of the houfe of commons waited upon him 
with the thanks of the houfe ; and December 2, her ma¬ 
jority declared her intention in council of creating him a 
duke: which fhe then did, by the title of marquis of 
Blandford, and duke of Marlborough. She likewile added 
a penfion of 5000I. per ann. out of the poft-office, during 
her own life, and fent a meflage to the houfe of commons, 
fignifying her defire that it might attend the'honour fine 
had lately conferred ; but with this the houfe would not 
comply, contenting themfelves, in their addrefs to the 
queen, with applauding her manner of rewarding public 
iervice, but declaring their inability to make fuch a pre¬ 
cedent for alienating the revenue of the crown. 
He was. on the point of returning to Holland, when, 
February 8, 1703, his only fon the marquis of Blandford 
died at Cambridge, at the age of eighteen. This veryafflift- 
ing accident did not however lonl> retard him ; but he palled 
over to Holland, and arrived at the Hague March 6. We 
cannot here relate all the military afts in which the duke 
of Marlborough was engaged, particularly as they are 
detailed under the article England: it is fufficient to 
fay, that they were nil fuccefsful. The French had a 
great army at this time in Flanders, in the Low-countries, 
and in that part of Germany which the elector of Cologn 
had put into their hands; and prodigious preparations 
were made under the molt experienced commanders : but 
the vigilance and activity of the duke baffled them all. 
When the campaign was over, his grace went to Duflel- 
dorp to meet the emperor Charles III. king of Spain, who 
made him a prefent of a rich iword from his iide, with 
very high compliments; and then returning to the Hague, 
his grace after a very fflort ftay, came over to England. 
He arrived October 1 3, 1703 ; and foon after king Charles, 
whom he had accompanied to the Hague, came likewile 
to England, and arrived at Spithead the day after Chrift- 
mas-day : upon which the dukes of Somerlet and Marl¬ 
borough were lent to receive and conduft him to Windfor. 
In January the Hates defired leave of the queen for the 
duke to come to the Hague ; which being granted, he em¬ 
barked on the 15th, And palled over to Rotterdam. He 
went immediately to the Hague, where he communicated 
to the penfionary his fenfe of the necelfity there was of 
attempting foniething the next campaign for the relief of 
the emperor ; whole affairs at this time were in the utmoft 
diftrefs, having the Bavarians on one fide, and the Hun¬ 
garian malcontents on the other, making incurfions to the 
very gates of Vienna, while his whole force fcarce enabled 
him to maintain a defenlive war. This fcheme being ap¬ 
proved of, and the plan of it adjufted, the duke returned 
to England February 14. 
When meafures were properly fettled at home, April 8, 
3704, he embarked for Holland; where Haying about a 
month to adjuft the neceffary ffeps, he began his march 
towards the interior, of Germany 3 and afte'r a conference 
held with prince Eugene of Savoy and Lewis of Baden, 
he arrived before the ftrong entrenchments of the enemy 
at Schellenburg, very unexpeftedly, on June 21 ; whom, 
after an obltinate and bloody difpute, he entirely routed - . 
It was on this occafion that the emperor wrote the duke a 
letter with his own hand, acknowledging his great fer- 
vices, and offering him the title of a prince of the empire, 
which he modeftly declined,till the queen afterwards com- 
ananded him to accept of it. He profecuted this fuccels, 
and the battle of Hochftet was fought by him and prince 
Eugene, on Auguff 2 ; when the French and Bavarians 
were thegreateff part of them killed and taken, and their 
commander marlhal Tallard made a prifoner. After this 
glorious aftion, by which the empire was faved, and, the 
whole electorate of Bavaria conquered, the duke conti¬ 
nued his purfuit till he forced the French to repafs the 
Rhine. Then prince Lewis of Baden laid fiege to Lan¬ 
dau, while the duke and prince Eugene covered it 3 but 
a 
: H I L L. 
it was not taken before the 12th of November. He made a. 
tour alfo to Berlin ; and by a lliort negociation, fufpended 
the difputes between the king of Pruflia and the Dutch, 
by which he gained the good-will of both parties. When 
the campaign was over, he returned to Holland, and De¬ 
cember 14, arrived in England. He brought over with 
him marlhal Tallard, and twenty-fix other officers of dif- 
tinftion, 121 ffandards, and 179 colours, which by her 
majefty’s order were put up in Weffminlter-hall. He 
was received by the queen with the higheft marks of 
efteem, and had the folemn thanks of both boufes of par¬ 
liament. Beiides this, the commons addrefled her ma- 
jefty to perpetuate the memory of this victory, which ffre 
did,-by granting Woodltock, with the hundred of Wot- 
ton, to, him and his heirs for ever. This was confirmed 
by an aft of parliament, which palled on the 14th of 
March following, with this remarkable claufe, that they 
ffiould be held by tendering to the queen, her heirs and 
fucceffors, on Auguft 2, every year for ever, at the caftle 
of Windfor, a ftandard with three fleurs de lys painted 
thereon. January 6, the duke was feaffed by the city; 
and February 8, the commons addrefled the queen, to 
teftify their thanks for the wife treaty which the duke had 
concluded with the court of Berlin, by which a large body 
of Pruffian troops were lent to the afliffance of the duke 
of Savoy. 
The next year, j 705, he went over to Holland in March, 
with a defign to execute Lome great fchemes, which he 
had been projefting in the winter. The campaign was 
attended with 1’ome fucceffes, which would have made a 
coniiderable figure in a-campaign under any other general, 
but are fcarcely worth mentioning where the duke of 
Marlborough commanded. He could not carry into exe¬ 
cution his main project, on account of the impediments 
he met with from the allies, and in this refpeft was greatly 
disappointed. The feafon for aftion being over, he made 
a tour to the courts of Vienna, Berlin, and Hanover. 
At the firft of thele he acquired the entire confidence of 
the new emperor Jofeph, who prefented him with the 
principality of Mindelheim : at thefecond he renewed the 
. contract for the Pruffian forces: and at the-third, he re- 
Itored a perfeft harmony, and adjulled every thing to the 
eleftor’s fatisfaftion. After this, he returned to the 
Hague, and towards the clofe of the year, embarked for, 
and arrived fafe in, England. January 7, the houfe of 
commons came to a refqiution, to thank his^race, as well 
for his prudent negotiations, as for his great fervices : but 
notwithftanding this, it very foon appeared that 'there 
was a ftrong party formed againlt the war, and ffeps were 
taken to cenfure and difgrace the conduft of the duke. 
Things however being concei ted for rendering the next 
year’s campaign more fuccefsful than the ‘former, ■ the 
duke of Marlborough, in the beginning of April 3706, 
embarked for Holland. This year the famous battle of 
Families was fought, and won upon May 12, being Wlnt- 
funday. The duke was twice here in the utmoft danger, 
once by a fall from his horfe, and a fecond time by a can- 
non-fhot, which took off the head of colonel Bingfield, as 
he was holding the ffirrup for him to remount. The ad¬ 
vantages gained by this viftory, were fo far improved by 
the vigilance and wifdom of the duke, that Louvain, 
Bruffels, Mechlin, arid even Ghent and Bruges, imme¬ 
diately fubmitted ; and Oudenaid lurrendered upon the 
firft fummons. The city of Antwerp followed this ex¬ 
ample ; and thus, in the fliort fpace of a fortnight, the 
duke reduced all Brabant. He afterwards took the towns 
of Offend, Menin, Dendermonde, and Aeth. The forces 
of the allies, after this glorious campaign, being about to 
feparate, his grace went to the Hague Oftober 16, where 
the propofals, which France had made for a peace, con¬ 
tained in a letter from the eleftor of Bavaria to the duke 
of Marlborough, were communicated to the minifters of 
the allies, after which he embarked for England, Nov. 15. 
He arrived in London., November 18, 1706; and though 
at this time there was a party formed againlt him at court, 
yet 
