John Churchill , 1st Duke of Marlborough John Churchill , 1st Duke of Marlborough , Prince of Mindelheim , Prince of Mellenburg , , ( , often ; 26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O . S ) , was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs . Rising from a lowly page at the court of the House of Stuart , he served James , Duke of York , through the 1670s and early 1680s , earning military and political advancement through his courage and diplomatic skill . Churchill ' s role in defeating the Monmouth Rebellion in 1685 helped secure James on the throne , yet just three years later he abandoned his Catholic patron for the Protestant Dutchman , William of Orange . Honoured for his services at William ' s coronation with the earldom of Marlborough , he served with further distinction in the early years of the Nine Years ' War , but persistent charges of Jacobitism brought about his fall from office and temporary imprisonment in the Tower . It was not until the accession of Queen Anne in 1702 that Marlborough reached the zenith of his powers and secured his fame and fortune . His marriage to the hot - tempered Sarah Jennings – Anne ' s intimate friend – ensured Marlborough ' s rise , first to the Captain - Generalcy of British forces , then to a dukedom . Becoming " de facto " leader of Allied forces during the War of the Spanish Succession , his victories on the fields of Blenheim ( 1704 ) , Ramillies ( 1706 ) , Oudenarde ( 1708 ) , and Malplaquet ( 1709 ) , ensured his place in history as one of Europe ' s great generals . But his wife ' s stormy relationship with the Queen , and her subsequent dismissal from court , was central to his own fall . Incurring Anne ' s disfavour , and caught between Tory and Whig factions , Marlborough , who had brought glory and success to Anne ' s reign , was forced from office and went into self - imposed exile . He returned to England and to influence under the House of Hanover with the accession of George I to the British throne in 1714 . Marlborough ' s insatiable ambition made him the richest of all Anne ' s subjects . His family connections wove him into the fabric of European politics ( his sister Arabella became James II ' s mistress , and their son , the Duke of Berwick , emerged as one of Louis XIV ' s greatest Marshals ) . His leadership of the allied armies consolidated Britain ' s emergence as a front - rank power . He successfully maintained unity among the allies , thereby demonstrating his diplomatic skills . Throughout ten consecutive campaigns during the Spanish Succession war Marlborough held together a discordant coalition through his sheer force of personality and raised the standing of British arms to a level not known since the Middle Ages . Although in the end he could not compel total capitulation from his enemies , his victories allowed Britain to rise from a minor to a major power , ensuring the country ' s growing prosperity throughout the 18th century . Early life ( 1650 – 78 ) . Ashe House . At the end of the English Civil War Lady Eleanor Drake was joined at her Devon home , Ashe House in the parish of Musbury , by her third daughter Elizabeth , and Elizabeth ' s husband , Winston Churchill . Unlike his mother - in - law who had supported the Parliamentary cause , Winston had had the misfortune of fighting on the losing side of the war - for which he , like so many other Cavalier s , was forced to pay recompense ; in his case £446 18s . Although Winston had paid off the fine by 1651 , it had impoverished the ex - Royalist cavalry captain whose motto " Fiel Pero Desdichado " ( Faithful but Unfortunate ) is still today used by his descendants . Winston and Elizabeth Churchill had at least nine children , only five of whom survived infancy . The eldest daughter , Arabella , was born on 28 February 1649 ; the eldest son , John , was born on 26 May 1650 ( O . S . ) . They had two younger brothers : George ( 1654 – 1710 ) , who later became an admiral in the Royal Navy ; and Charles ( 1656 – 1714 ) , who became a general and later served on campaign in Europe with John . However , little is known of John Churchill ' s childhood for he himself tells us nothing of it , but growing up in these impoverished conditions at Ashe , with family tensions soured by conflicting allegiances , may have had a lasting impression on the young Churchill . His father ' s namesake , and John Churchill ' s biographer and descendant , Sir Winston Churchill , asserted – " [ The conditions at Ashe ] might well have aroused in his mind two prevailing impressions : First a hatred of poverty . . . and secondly , the need of hiding thoughts and feelings from those to whom their expression would be repugnant . " After the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660 the elder Churchill ' s fortunes took a turn for the better , although he remained far from prosperous . In 1661 , Winston became Member of Parliament for Weymouth , and as a mark of royal favour he received rewards for losses incurred fighting against the Parliamentarians during the civil war , including the appointment as a Commissioner for Irish Land Claims in Dublin in 1661 . When Winston departed for Ireland the following year , John enrolled at the Dublin Free School ; but by 1664 , following his father ' s recall to the position of Junior Clerk Comptroller of the King ' s Household at Whitehall , John had transferred his studies to St Paul ' s School in London . The King ' s own penury meant the old Cavaliers received scant financial reward , but the prodigal monarch could offer something which would cost him nothing – positions at court for their progeny . Thus in 1665 Arabella became Maid of Honour to Anne Hyde , the Duchess of York . Some months later Arabella ' s brother John joined her at court , serving as page to Anne ' s husband , James , Duke of York , the brother of the King . Early military experience . The Duke of York ' s passion for all things naval and military rubbed off on young Churchill . Often accompanying the Duke inspecting the troops in the royal parks , it was not long before the boy had set his heart on becoming a soldier himself . On 14 September 1667 ( O . S . ) , he obtained a commission as ensign in the King ' s Own Company in the 1st Guards , later to become the Grenadier Guards . His career advanced further when in 1668 Churchill sailed for the North African outpost of Tangier , recently acquired as part of the dowry of Charles II ' s Portuguese wife , Catherine of Braganza . In a rude contrast to life at court , Churchill stayed here for three years , gaining first - class tactical training and field experience skirmishing with the Moors . Back in London by February 1671 , Churchill ' s handsome features and manner – described by Lord Chesterfield as " irresistible to either man or woman " – had soon attracted the ravenous attentions of one of the King ' s most noteworthy mistresses , Barbara Villiers , Duchess of Cleveland . But his liaisons with the insatiable temptress were indeed dangerous . One account has it that upon the King ' s appearance Churchill leapt out of his lover ' s bed and hid in the cupboard , but the King , himself wily in such matters , soon discovered young Churchill who promptly fell to his knees – " You are a rascal , " said Charles , " but I forgive you because you do it to get your bread . " The story may be apocryphal ( another version has Churchill jumping out of the window ) , yet it is widely accepted that he was the father of Cleveland ' s daughter , Barbara , born on 16 July 1672 ( O . S . ) . In 1672 Churchill went to sea again . While fighting the Dutch navy at the Battle of Solebay off the Suffolk coast in June , valorous conduct aboard the Duke of York ' s flagship , the " Prince " , earned Churchill promotion ( above the resentful heads of more senior officers ) to a captaincy in the Admiralty Regiment . The following year Churchill gained a further commendation at the Siege of Maastricht when the young captain distinguished himself as part of the 30 - man forlorn hope , successfully capturing and defending part of the fortress . During this incident Churchill is credited with saving the Duke of Monmouth ' s life , receiving a slight wound in the process but gaining further praise from a grateful House of Stuart , as well as recognition from the House of Bourbon . King Louis XIV in person commended the deed , from which time forward bore Churchill an enviable reputation for physical courage , as well as earning the high regard of the common soldier . Although Charles II ' s anti - French Parliament had forced England to withdraw from the Franco - Dutch War in 1674 , some English regiments remained in French service . In April Churchill was appointed the colonelcy of one such regiment , thereafter serving with , and learning from , the great Marshal Turenne . Churchill was present at the hard - fought battles of Sinsheim in June 1674 , and Enzheim in October ; he may also have been present at Sasbach in July 1675 , where Turenne was killed . Marriage and family . On his return to St . James ' s Palace , Churchill ' s attention was drawn towards other matters , and to a fresh face at court . " I beg you will let me see you as often as you can , " pleaded Churchill in a letter to Sarah Jennings , " which I am sure you ought to do if you care for my love . . . " Sarah Jennings ' social origins were in many ways similar to Churchill ' s – minor gentry blighted by debt - induced poverty . After her father ' s death when she was eight , Sarah , together with her mother and sisters , moved to London . As Royalist supporters ( despite the fact that Sarah ' s great uncle , James Temple , was convicted of regicide ) , the Jennings ' loyalty to the crown , like the Churchill ' s , was repaid with court employment , and in 1673 Sarah followed her sister Frances into the household of the Duchess of York , Mary of Modena , second wife to James , Duke of York . Sarah was about fifteen when Churchill returned from the Continent in 1675 , and he appears to have been almost immediately captivated by her charms and considerable good looks . Churchill ' s amorous , almost abject , missives of devotion were , it seems , received with suspicion – his first lover , Barbara Villiers , was just moving her household to Paris , feeding doubts that he may well have been looking at Sarah as a replacement mistress rather than a fiancée . However , his persistent courtship over the coming months eventually won over the beautiful , if relatively poor , Maid of Honour . Although Winston wished his son to marry the wealthy Catherine Sedley ( if only to ease his own burden of debt ) , Colonel Churchill married Sarah sometime in the winter of 1677 – 78 , possibly in the apartments of the Duchess of York . John and Sarah had the following children : Years of crises ( 1678 – 1700 ) . Diplomatic service . Under the Earl of Danby the government now undertook a political realignment , and prepared to enter the war against France . The new alliance with the Dutch , together with the expansion of the English army , opened important prospects for Churchill in military and diplomatic spheres . In April 1678 , Churchill ( accompanied by his friend and rising politician , Sidney Godolphin ) , departed for The Hague to negotiate a convention on the deployment of the English army in Flanders . The young diplomat ' s essay in international statecraft proved personally successful , bringing him into contact with William , Prince of Orange , who was highly impressed by the shrewdness and courtesy of Churchill ' s negotiating skills . The assignment had helped Churchill develop a breadth of experience that other mere soldiers were never to achieve , yet because of the duplicitous dealings of Charles II ' s secret negotiations with Louis XIV ( Charles had no intention of waging war against France ) , the mission ultimately proved abortive . In May , Churchill was appointed temporary rank of Brigadier - General of Foot , but hopes of promised action on the Continent proved illusory as the warring factions sued for peace and signed the Treaty of Nijmegen . When Churchill returned to England at the end of 1678 he found grievous changes in English society . The iniquities of the Popish Plot ( Titus Oates ' fabricated conspiracy aimed at excluding the Catholic Duke of York from the English accession ) , meant temporary banishment for James – an exile that would last nearly three years . James obliged Churchill to attend him , first to The Hague then to Brussels , before gaining permission to move to Edinburgh . Yet it was not until 1682 , after Charles II ' s complete victory over the exclusionists , that the Duke of York was allowed to return to London . For his services during the crisis Churchill was made Lord Churchill of Eyemouth in the peerage of Scotland on 21 December 1682 ( O . S . ) , and the following year , on 19 November ( O . S . ) , appointed colonel of the King ' s Own Royal Regiment of Dragoons . The Churchills ' combined income now ensured a life of some style and comfort ; as well as maintaining their residence in London ( staffed with seven servants ) , they were also able to purchase Holywell House in St Albans ( Sarah Jennings ' family home ) where their own family could enjoy the benefits of country life . While in Edinburgh Sarah had given birth to Henrietta on 19 July 1681 ( O . S . ) . Another daughter , Anne , arrived in 1684 , followed by John in 1686 , Elizabeth in 1687 , Mary in 1689 , and Charles in 1690 who lived for only two years . Churchill resumed court life with enthusiasm . In July 1683 he was sent to the Continent to conduct Prince George of Denmark to England for his arranged marriage to the 18 - year - old Princess Anne , the Duke of York ' s younger daughter . Anne lost no time in appointing Sarah – of whom she had been passionately fond since childhood – one of her Ladies of the Bedchamber . Their relationship continued to blossom , so much so that years later Sarah wrote – " To see [ me ] was a constant joy ; and to part with [ me ] for never so short a time , a constant uneasiness . . . This worked even to the jealousy of a lover . " For his part , Churchill treated the princess with respectful affection and grew genuinely attached to her , assuming – in his reverence to royalty – the chivalrous role of a knightly champion . From this time forward the Churchills were increasingly detached from James ' s Catholic inner circle and more noticeably associated with the Princess . Rebellion . With the death of Charles II in 1685 his brother , the Catholic Duke of York , became King James II . On James ' s succession Churchill was appointed governor of the Hudson ' s Bay Company . He had also been affirmed Gentleman of the Bedchamber in April , and admitted to the English peerage as Baron Churchill of Sandridge in the county of Hertfordshire in May , thus giving him a seat in the House of Lords . However , the new Parliament was overshadowed by rebellion , led in Scotland by the Earl of Argyll , and in England by Charles II ' s illegitimate son , the Duke of Monmouth , who , encouraged by malcontents and various Whig conspirators ( exiled for their part in the failed Rye House plot ) , prepared to take what he considered rightfully his – the crown of England . To face Monmouth ' s rebels Churchill was given command of the regular foot in the King ' s army , but the honour of leading the campaign passed to the limited , yet highly loyal , Earl of Feversham . Monmouth had landed at Lyme Regis on 11 June ( O . S . ) , but his ill - timed , ill - equipped , and ill - advised peasant rebellion eventually floundered on the Somerset field of Sedgemoor on 6 July 1685 ( O . S . ) . Although Churchill ' s role was subordinate to Feversham , his administrative organisation , tactical skill , and courage in battle were pivotal in the victory . " Sedgemoor may not have been John Churchill ' s most spectacular victory , " writes historian John Tincey , " but it must rightly be considered to be his first " . Churchill had been promoted to Major General on 3 July ( O . S . ) , but it was Feversham who received the lion ' s share of the reward . Churchill was not entirely forgotten , and in August he was awarded the lucrative colonelcy of the Third Troop of Life Guards . Yet according to Historian David Chandler it may be possible that the Sedgemoor campaign , and its subsequent persecutions driven by the bloodthirsty zeal of Judge Jeffreys , set in train a process of disillusion that culminated in his abandonment of his king , and long - time patron and friend , just three years later . His master , however , had already given him cause for anxiety . " If the King should attempt to change our religion , " he is reputed to have remarked to Lord Galway shortly after James II ' s succession , " I will instantly quit his service . " Revolution . Churchill emerged from the Sedgemoor campaign with great credit , but he was anxious not to be seen as sympathetic towards the King ' s growing religious ardour against the Protestant establishment . James II ' s promotion of Catholics in royal institutions – including the army – engendered first suspicion , and ultimately sedition in his mainly Protestant subjects ; even members of his own family expressed alarm at the King ' s fanatic zeal for the Roman Catholic religion . When the queen gave birth to a son , James Francis Edward Stuart , it opened up the prospect of a line of successive Catholic monarchs . Some in the King ' s service , such as the Earl of Salisbury and the Earl of Melfort , betrayed their Protestant upbringing in order to gain favour at court , but although Churchill remained true to his conscience , telling the King , " I have been bred a Protestant , and intend to live and die in that communion " , he was also motivated by self - interest . Believing that the monarch ' s policy would either wreck his own career or generate a wider insurrection , he did not intend , like his unfortunate father before him , to be on the losing side . Seven men met to draft the invitation to the Protestant Dutch Stadtholder , William , Prince of Orange , to invade England and assume the throne . The signatories to the letter included Whigs , Tories , and the Bishop of London , Henry Compton , who assured the Prince that , " Nineteen parts of twenty of the people . . . are desirous of change . " William needed no further encouragement . Although the invitation was not signed by Churchill ( he was not , as yet , of sufficient political rank to be a signatory ) , he declared his intention through William ' s principal English contact in The Hague – " If you think there is anything else that I ought to do , you have but to command me . " Churchill , like many others , was looking for an opportune time to desert James . William landed at Torbay on 5 November 1688 ( O . S . ) ; from there , he moved his army to Exeter . James ' s forces – once again commanded by Lord Feversham – moved to Salisbury , but few of its senior officers were eager to fight – even Princess Anne wrote to William to wish him " good success in this so just an undertaking . " Promoted to Lieutenant - General on 7 November ( O . S . ) Churchill was still at the King ' s side , but his displaying " the greatest transports of joy imaginable " at the desertion of Lord Cornbury led Feversham to call for his arrest . Churchill himself had openly encouraged defection to the Orangist cause , but James continued to hesitate . Soon it was too late to act . After the meeting of the council of war on the morning of 24 November ( O . S . ) , Churchill , accompanied by some 400 officers and men , slipped from the royal camp and rode towards William in Axminster , leaving behind him a letter of apology and self - justification : . . . I hope the great advantage I enjoy under Your Majesty , which I own I would never expect in any other change of government , may reasonably convince Your Majesty and the world that I am actuated by a higher principle . . When the King saw he could not keep even Churchill – for so long his loyal and intimate servant – he despaired . James II , who in the words of the Archbishop of Rheims , had " given up three kingdoms for a Mass " , fled to France , taking with him his son and heir . With barely a shot fired , William had secured the throne , reigning as joint sovereign with his wife Mary , James II ' s eldest daughter . William ' s general . As part of William and Mary ' s coronation honours , Churchill was created Earl of Marlborough on 9 April 1689 ( O . S . ) ; he was also sworn as a member of the Privy Council and made a Gentleman of the King ' s Bedchamber . His elevation , however , led to accusatory rumours from King James ' s supporters that Marlborough had disgracefully betrayed his erstwhile king for personal gain ; William himself entertained reservations about the man who had deserted James . Marlborough ' s apologists though , including his most notable descendant and biographer Winston Churchill , have been at pains to attribute patriotic , religious , and moral motives to his action ; but in the words of Chandler , it is difficult to absolve Marlborough of ruthlessness , ingratitude , intrigue and treachery against a man to whom he owed virtually everything in his life and career to date . Marlborough ' s first official act was to assist in the remodelling of the army – the power of confirming or purging officers and men gave the Earl the opportunity to build a new patronage network which would prove beneficial over the next two decades . His task was urgent , for less than six months after James II ' s departure , England joined the war against France as part of a powerful coalition aimed at curtailing the ambitions of Louis XIV . With his experience it was logical that Marlborough took charge of the 8 , 000 British troops sent to the Low Countries in the spring of 1689 ; yet throughout the Nine Years ' War ( 1688 – 97 ) he saw only three years service in the field , and then mostly in subordinate commands . However , at the Battle of Walcourt on 25 August 1689 Marlborough won praise from the Allied commander , Prince Waldeck – " . . . despite his youth he displayed greater military capacity than do most generals after a long series of wars . . . He is assuredly one of the most gallant men I know . " In recognition of his skill and valour William awarded him the lucrative colonelcy of the 7th Foot ( later the Royal Fusiliers ) . Since Walcourt , though , Marlborough ' s popularity at court had waned . William and Mary distrusted both Lord and Lady Marlborough ' s influence as confidants and supporters of Princess Anne ( whose claim to the throne was stronger than William ' s ) . Sarah had supported Anne in a series of court disputes with the joint monarchs , infuriating Mary who included the Earl in her disfavour of his scheming wife . Yet for the moment the clash of tempers were over - shadowed by more pressing events in Ireland where James had landed in March 1689 in an attempt to regain his thrones . When William left for Ireland in June 1690 Marlborough became commander of all troops and militia in England , and was appointed a member of the Council of Nine to advise Mary on military matters in the King ' s absence ; but she made scant effort to disguise her distaste at his appointment – " I can neither trust or esteem him , " she wrote to William . William III ' s victory at the Battle of the Boyne on 1 July 1690 ( O . S . ) forced James II to abandon his army and flee back to France . In August Marlborough himself left for Ireland engaged upon his first independent command – a land / sea operation upon southern ports of Cork and Kinsale . It was a bold , imaginative project aimed at disrupting Jacobite supply routes , and one which the Earl conceived and executed with outstanding success . Cork fell on 27 September ( O . S . ) , and Kinsale followed in mid - October . Although the campaign did not end the war in Ireland as Marlborough hoped , it taught him the significance of the minutiae of logistics , and the importance of cooperation and tact when working alongside other senior Allied commanders . It would , however , be more than ten years before he once again took charge in the field . Dismissal and disgrace . William III recognised Marlborough ' s qualities as a soldier and strategist , but the refusal of the Order of the Garter and failure to appoint him Master - General of the Ordnance , rankled with the ambitious Earl ; nor did Marlborough conceal his bitter disappointment behind his usual bland discretion . Using his influence in Parliament and the army , Marlborough aroused dissatisfaction concerning William ' s preferences for foreign commanders , an exercise designed to force the King ' s hand . Aware of this , William in turn began to speak openly of his distrust of Marlborough ; the Elector of Brandenburg ' s envoy to London overheard the King remark that he had been treated – " so infamously by Marlborough that , had he not been king , he would have felt it necessary to challenge him to a duel . " Since January 1691 Marlborough had been in contact with the exiled James II in Saint - Germain , anxious to obtain the erstwhile King ' s pardon for deserting him in 1688 – a pardon essential for the success of his future career in the not altogether unlikely event of a Jacobite restoration . James himself maintained contact with his supporters in England whose principal object was to re - establish him upon his throne . William was well aware of these contacts ( as well as others such as Godolphin and the Duke of Shrewsbury ) , but their double - dealing was seen more in the nature of an insurance policy , rather than as an explicit commitment . Marlborough did not wish for a Jacobite restoration , but William was conscious of his military and political qualities , and the danger the Earl posed : " William was not prone to fear , " wrote Thomas Macaulay , " but if there was anyone on earth that he feared , it was Marlborough . " By the time William and Marlborough had returned from an uneventful campaign in the Spanish Netherlands in October 1691 , their relationship had further deteriorated . In January 1692 , the Queen , angered by Marlborough ' s intrigues in Parliament , the army , and even with Saint - Germain , ordered Anne to dismiss Sarah from her household – Anne refused . This personal dispute precipitated Marlborough ' s dismissal . On 20 January ( O . S . ) , the Earl of Nottingham , Secretary of State , ordered Marlborough to dispose of all his posts and offices , both civil and military , and consider himself dismissed from all appointments and forbidden the court . No reasons were given but Marlborough ' s chief associates were outraged : Shrewsbury voiced his disapproval and Godolphin threatened to retire from government . Admiral Russell , now commander - in - chief of the Navy , personally accused the King of ingratitude to the man who had " set the crown upon his head . " High treason . The nadir of Marlborough ' s fortunes had not yet been reached . The spring of 1692 brought renewed threats of a French invasion and new accusations of Jacobite treachery . Acting on the testimony of one Robert Young , the Queen had arrested all the signatories to a letter purporting the restoration of James II and the seizure of William III . Marlborough , as one of these signatories , was sent to the Tower of London on 4 May ( O . S . ) where he languished for five weeks ; his anguish compounded by the news of the death of his younger son Charles on 22 May ( O . S . ) . Young ' s letters were eventually discredited as forgeries and Marlborough was released on 15 June ( O . S . ) , but he continued his correspondence with James , leading to the celebrated incident of the " Camaret Bay letter " of 1694 . For several months the Allies had been planning an attack upon Brest , the French port in the Bay of Biscay . The French had received intelligence alerting them to the imminent assault , enabling Marshal Vauban to strengthen its defences and reinforce the garrison . Inevitably the attack on 18 June led by Thomas Tollemache ended in disaster ; most of his men were killed or captured , and Tollemache himself died of his wounds shortly afterwards . Despite lacking evidence , Marlborough ' s detractors claimed that it was he who had alerted the enemy . Macaulay states that in a letter on 3 May 1694 Marlborough betrayed the Allied plans to James , thus ensuring that the landing failed and that Tollemache , a talented rival , was killed or discredited as a direct result . Historians such as John Paget and C . T . Atkinson conclude that he probably did write the letter , but did so only when he knew that it would be received too late for its information to be of any practical use ( the plan of the attack on Brest was widely known , and the French had already begun to strengthen their defences in April ) . To Richard Holmes the evidence linking Marlborough with the Camaret Bay letter ( which no longer exists ) , is slender , concluding , " It is very hard to imagine a man as careful as Marlborough , only recently freed from suspicion of treason , writing a letter which would kill him if it fell into the wrong hands . " However , David Chandler surmises that , " the whole episode is so obscure and inconclusive that it is still not possible to make a definite ruling . In sum , perhaps we should award Marlborough the benefit of the doubt . " Reconciliation . Mary ' s death on 28 December 1694 ( O . S . ) eventually led to a formal but cool reconciliation between William III and Anne , now heir to the throne . Marlborough hoped that the rapprochement would lead to his own return to office , but although he and Lady Marlborough were allowed to return to court , the Earl received no offer of employment . In 1696 Marlborough , together with Godolphin , Russell and Shrewsbury , was yet again implicated in a treasonous plot with James II , this time instigated by the Jacobite militant John Fenwick . The accusations were eventually dismissed as a fabrication and Fenwick executed – the King himself had remained incredulous – but it was not until 1698 , a year after the Treaty of Ryswick brought an end to the Nine Years ' War , that the corner was finally turned in William ' s and Marlborough ' s relationship . On the recommendation of Lord Sunderland ( whose wife was a close friend of Lady Marlborough ) , William eventually offered Marlborough the post of governor to the Duke of Gloucester , Anne ' s eldest son ; he was also restored to the Privy Council , together with his military rank . When William left for Holland in July Marlborough was one of the Lords Justices left running the country in his absence ; but striving to reconcile his close Tory connections with that of the dutiful royal servant was difficult , leading Marlborough to complain – " The King ' s coldness to me still continues . " Later life ( 1700 – 22 ) . War of the Spanish Succession . With the death of the infirm and childless King Charles II of Spain on 1 November 1700 , the succession of the Spanish throne , and subsequent control over her empire , once again embroiled Europe in war – the War of the Spanish Succession . On his deathbed Charles II had bequeathed his domains to Louis XIV ' s grandson , Philip , Duc d ' Anjou . This threatened to unite the Spanish and French kingdoms under the House of Bourbon – something unacceptable to England , the Dutch Republic and the Holy Roman Emperor , Leopold I , who had himself a claim to the Spanish throne . With William ' s health deteriorating ( himself estimating he had but a short time to live ) , and with the Earl ' s undoubted influence over his successor Princess Anne , the King decided that Marlborough should take centre stage in European affairs . Representing William III in The Hague as Ambassador - Extraordinary and as commander of English forces , Marlborough was tasked to negotiate a new coalition to oppose France and Spain . On 7 September 1701 , the Treaty of the Second Grand Alliance was duly signed by England , the Emperor , and the Dutch Republic to thwart the ambitions of Louis XIV and stem Bourbon power . However , William was not to see England ' s declaration of war . On 8 March 1702 ( O . S . ) the King , already in a poor state of health , died from injuries sustained in a riding accident , leaving his sister - in - law , Anne , to be immediately proclaimed as his successor . Although the King ' s death occasioned instant disarray amongst the coalition , Count Wratislaw was able to report that – " The greatest consolation in this confusion is that Marlborough is fully informed of the whole position and by reason of his credit with the Queen can do everything . " This ' credit with the Queen ' also proved personally profitable to her long - standing friends . Anxious to reward Marlborough for his diplomatic and martial skills in Ireland and on the Continent , Anne made him the Master - General of the Ordnance – an office he had long desired – a Knight of the Garter and Captain - General of her armies at home and abroad . With Lady Marlborough ' s advancements as Groom of the Stole , Mistress of the Robes , and Keeper of the Privy Purse , the Marlboroughs , now at the height of their powers with the Queen , enjoyed a joint annual income of over £60 , 000 , and unrivalled influence at court . Early campaigns . On 4 May 1702 ( O . S . ) England formally declared war on France . Marlborough was given command of the English , Dutch , and hired German forces , but he had not as yet commanded a large army in the field , and had far less experience than a dozen Dutch and German generals who must now work under him . His command had its limitations , however . As commander of Anglo - Dutch forces he had the power to give orders to Dutch generals only when their troops were in action with his own ; at all other times he had to rely on his powers of tact and persuasion , and gain the consent of accompanying Dutch field deputies or political representatives of the States - General . Nevertheless , despite his Allies ' initial lassitude the campaign in the Low Countries ( the war ' s principal theatre ) began well for Marlborough . After outmanoeuvring Marshal Boufflers , he captured Venlo , Roermond , Stevensweert and Liège , for which in December a grateful Queen publicly proclaimed Marlborough a duke . On 9 February 1703 ( O . S . ) , soon after the Marlboroughs ' elevation , their daughter Elizabeth married Scroop Egerton , Earl of Bridgewater . This was followed in the summer by an engagement between Mary and John Montagu , heir to the Earl of , and later Duke of , Montagu , ( they later married on 20 March 1705 ( O . S . ) ) . Their two older daughters were already married : Henrietta to Godolphin ' s son Francis in April 1698 , and Anne to the hot - headed and intemperate Charles Spencer , Earl of Sunderland in 1700 . However , Marlborough ' s hopes of founding a great dynasty of his own reposed in his eldest and only surviving son , John , who , since his father ' s elevation , had borne the courtesy title of Marquess of Blandford . But while studying at Cambridge in early 1703 , the 17 - year - old was stricken with a severe strain of smallpox . His parents rushed to be by his side , but on Saturday morning , 20 February ( O . S . ) , the boy died , plunging the duke into ' the greatest sorrow in the world ' . Bearing his grief , and leaving Sarah to hers , the Duke returned to The Hague at the beginning of March . By now Marshal Villeroi had replaced Boufflers as commander in the Spanish Netherlands , but although Marlborough was able to take Bonn , Huy , and Limbourg in 1703 , continuing Dutch hesitancy prevented him from bringing the French to a decisive battle . Domestically the Duke also encountered resistance . The moderate Tory ministry of Marlborough , the Lord Treasurer Godolphin , and the Speaker of the House of Commons Robert Harley , were hampered by , and often at variance with , their High Tory colleagues whose strategic policy favoured the full employment of the Royal Navy in pursuit of trade advantages and colonial expansion overseas . To the Tories an action at sea was preferable to one ashore ; taking a coastal town was preferable to taking one inland . In contrast the Whigs , led by their ' Junto ' , enthusiastically supported the Ministry ' s Continental strategy of thrusting the army into the heart of France . This support wilted somewhat following the Allies ' recent campaign , but the Duke , whose diplomatic tact had held together a very discordant Grand Alliance , was now a general of international repute , and the limited success of 1703 was soon eclipsed by the Blenheim campaign . Blenheim and Ramillies . Pressed by the French and Bavarians to the west and Hungarian rebels to the east , Austria faced the real possibility of being forced out of the war . Concerns over Vienna and the situation in southern Germany convinced Marlborough of the necessity of sending aid to the Danube ; but the scheme of seizing the initiative from the enemy was extremely bold . From the start the Duke resolved to mislead the Dutch , who would never willingly permit any major weakening of Allied forces in the Spanish Netherlands . To this end , Marlborough moved his English troops to the Moselle ( a plan approved of by The Hague ) , but once there he planned to slip the Dutch leash and march south to link up with Austrian forces in southern Germany . A combination of strategic deception and brilliant administration enabled Marlborough to achieve his purpose . After marching from the Low Countries , the Allies fought a series of engagements against the Franco - Bavarian forces ranged against them on the Danube . The first major encounter occurred on 2 July 1704 when Marlborough and Prince Louis of Baden stormed the Schellenberg heights at Donauwörth . However , the main event followed on 13 August when Marlborough – assisted by the Imperial commander , the able Prince Eugene of Savoy – delivered a crushing defeat on Marshal Tallard ' s and the Elector of Bavaria ' s army at the Battle of Blenheim . The whole campaign , which historian John Lynn describes as one of the greatest examples of marching and fighting before Napoleon , had been a model of planning , logistics , tactical and operational skill , the successful outcome of which had altered the course of the conflict – Bavaria was knocked out of the war , and Louis XIV ' s hopes of an early victory were destroyed . With the subsequent fall of Landau on the Rhine , and Trier and Trarbach on the Moselle , Marlborough now stood as the foremost soldier of the age . Even the Tories , who had declared that should he fail they would " break him up like hounds on a hare " , could not entirely restrain their patriotic admiration . The Queen lavished upon her favourite the royal manor of Woodstock and the promise of a fine palace commemorative of his great victory at Blenheim ; but since her accession her relationship with Sarah had become progressively distant . The Duke and Duchess had risen to greatness not least because of their intimacy with Anne , but the Duchess ' s relentless campaign against the Tories ( Sarah was a firm Whig ) , isolated her from the Queen whose natural inclinations lay with the Tories , the staunch supporters of the Church of England . For her part , Anne , now Queen and no longer the timid adolescent so easily dominated by her more beautiful friend , had grown tired of Sarah ' s tactless political hectoring and increasingly haughty manner which , in the coming years , were to destroy their friendship and undermine the position of her husband . During the Duke ' s march to the Danube Emperor Leopold I offered to make Marlborough a prince of the Holy Roman Empire in the small principality of Mindelheim . The Queen enthusiastically agreed to this elevation , but after the successes of 1704 , the campaign of 1705 brought little reason for satisfaction on the Continent . The planned invasion of France via the Moselle valley was frustrated by friend and foe alike , forcing the Duke to withdraw back towards the Low Countries . Although Marlborough penetrated the Lines of Brabant at Elixheim in July , Allied indecision and considerable Dutch hesitancy ( concerned as they were for the security of their homeland ) , prevented the Duke from pressing his advantage . The French and the Tories in England dismissed arguments that only Dutch obstructionism had robbed Marlborough of a great victory in 1705 , confirmed in their belief that Blenheim had been a lucky strike and that Marlborough was a general not to be feared . The early months of 1706 also proved frustrating for the Duke as Louis XIV ' s generals gained early successes in Italy and Alsace . These setbacks thwarted Marlborough ' s original plans for the coming campaign , but he soon adjusted his schemes and marched into enemy territory . Louis XIV , equally determined to fight and avenge Blenheim , goaded his commander , Marshal Villeroi , to seek out " Monsieur Marlbrouck " . The subsequent Battle of Ramillies , fought in the Spanish Netherlands on 23 May , was perhaps Marlborough ' s most successful action , and one in which he had himself characteristically drawn his sword at the pivotal moment . For the loss of fewer than 3 , 000 dead and wounded ( far fewer than Blenheim ) , his victory had cost the enemy some 20 , 000 casualties , inflicting in the words of Marshal Villars , " the most shameful , humiliating and disastrous of routs " . The campaign was an unsurpassed operational triumph for the English general . Town after town subsequently fell to the Allies . ' It really looks more like a dream than truth ' , wrote Marlborough to Sarah . With Prince Eugene ' s rout of the French army at Turin in September , 1706 proved a miraculous year for Allied arms . Falling out of favour . While Marlborough fought in the Low Countries a series of personal and party rivalries instigated a general reversal of fortune . The Whigs , who were the main prop of the war , had been laying siege to Godolphin . As a price for supporting the government in the next parliamentary session , the Whigs demanded a share of public office with the appointment of a leading member of their Junto , the Earl of Sunderland ( Marlborough ' s son - in - law ) , to the post of Secretary of State . The Queen , who loathed Sunderland and the Junto , and who refused to be dominated by any single party , bitterly opposed the move ; but Godolphin , increasingly dependent on Whig support , had little room for manoeuvre . With Sarah ' s tactless , unsubtle backing , Godolphin relentlessly pressed the Queen to submit to Whig demands . In despair , Anne finally relented and Sunderland received the seals of office ; but the special relationship between Godolphin , Sarah , and the Queen had taken a severe blow and she began to turn increasingly to a new favourite – Sarah ' s cousin , Abigail Masham . Anne also became ever more reliant on the advice of Harley , who , convinced that the " duumvirate ' s " policy of appeasing the Whig Junto was unnecessary , had set himself up as alternative source of advice to a sympathetic Queen . Following his victory at Ramillies Marlborough returned to England and the acclamation of Parliament ; his titles and estates were made perpetual upon his heirs , male or female , in order that ' the memory of these deeds should never lack one of his name to bear it ' . However , the Allied successes were followed in 1707 with a resurgence in French arms in all fronts of the war , and a return to political squabbling and indecision within the Grand Alliance . The Great Northern War also threatened dire consequences . The French had hoped to entice Charles XII , King of Sweden , to attack the Empire regarding grievances over the Polish Succession , but in a pre - campaign visit to the King ' s headquarters at Altranstädt , Marlborough ' s diplomacy helped placate Charles and prevent his interference regarding the Spanish Succession . Nevertheless , major setbacks in Spain at Almanza and along the Rhine in Southern Germany , had caused Marlborough great anxiety and made the Dutch even less cooperative , vetoing the Duke ' s plans for any major action in the Low Countries . Prince Eugene ' s retreat from Toulon ( Marlborough ' s major goal for 1707 ) ended any lingering hopes of a war - winning blow that year . Marlborough returned from these tribulations to a political storm as the Ministry ' s critics turned to attack the overall conduct of the war . The Duke and Godolphin had initially agreed to explore a ' moderate scheme ' with Harley and reconstruct the government , but they were incensed when Harley privately criticised the management of the war in Spain to the Queen , and his associate Henry St John , the Secretary at War , raised the issue in Parliament . Convinced of Harley ' s caballing , the duumvirs threatened the Queen with resignation unless she dismissed him . Anne fought stubbornly to keep her favourite minister , but when the Duke of Somerset and the Earl of Pembroke refused to act without ' the General nor the Treasurer ' , Harley resigned : Henry Boyle replaced him as Secretary of State , and his fellow Whig , Robert Walpole , replaced St John as Secretary at War . The struggle had given Marlborough a final lease of power but it was a Whig victory , and he had to a large extent lost his hold on the Queen . Oudenaarde and Malplaquet . The military setbacks of 1707 continued through the opening months of 1708 with the defection of Brugge and Gent to the French . Marlborough remained despondent about the general situation , but his optimism received a major boost with the arrival in theatre of Prince Eugene , his co - commander at Blenheim . Heartened by the Prince ' s robust confidence , Marlborough set about to regain the strategic initiative . The plan was in principle a repeat of the double invasion of the previous year , this time with the main blow to fall in the Low Countries . After a forced march , the Allies crossed the river Schelde at Oudenaarde just as the French army , under Marshal Vendôme and the duc de Burgundy , was crossing farther north with the intent of besieging the place . Marlborough – with renewed self - assurance – moved decisively to engage them . His subsequent victory at the Battle of Oudenaarde on 11 July 1708 demoralised the French army in Flanders ; his eye for ground , his sense of timing and his keen knowledge of the enemy were again amply demonstrated . Marlborough now wished to march directly on Paris , but counselled by a more cautious Eugene , the Allies instead resolved upon the Siege of Lille , the strongest fortress in Europe . While the Duke commanded the covering force , Eugene oversaw the siege of the town , which surrendered on 22 October ; however , it was not until 10 December that the resolute Boufflers yielded the citadel . Yet for all the difficulties of the winter siege , the campaign of 1708 had been a remarkable success , requiring superior logistical skill and organisation . The Allies re - took Brugge and Gent , and the French were driven out of almost all the Spanish Netherlands : " He who has not seen this , " wrote Eugene , " has seen nothing . " While Marlborough achieved honours on the battlefield , the Whigs , now in the ascendancy , drove the remaining Tories from the Cabinet . Marlborough and Godolphin , now distanced from Anne , would henceforth have to conform to the decisions of a Whig ministry , while the Tories , sullen and vengeful , looked forward to their former leaders ' downfall . To compound his troubles , the Duchess , spurred on by her hatred of Harley and Abigail , had finally driven the Queen to distraction and wrecked what was left of their friendship . Sarah was retained in her court position out of necessity as the price to be paid to keep her victorious husband at the head of the army . After the recent defeats and one of the worst winters in modern history , France was on the brink of collapse . However , Allied demands at the peace talks in The Hague in April 1709 ( principally concerning Article 37 that bound Louis XIV to hand over Spain within two months or face the renewal of the war ) , were rejected by the French in June . The Whigs , the Dutch , Marlborough and Eugene failed for personal and political reasons to secure a favourable peace , adhering to the uncompromising slogan ' No peace without Spain ' without any clear knowledge of how to accomplish it . All the while Harley , maintained up the backstairs by Abigail , rallied the moderates to his side , ready to play an ambitious and powerful middle part . Marlborough returned to campaigning in the Low Countries in June 1709 . After outwitting Marshal Villars to take the town of Tournai on 3 September ( a major and bloody operation ) , the Allies turned their attention upon Mons , determined to maintain the ceaseless pressure on the French . With direct orders from the increasingly desperate Louis XIV to save the city , Villars advanced on the tiny village of Malplaquet on 9 September 1709 and entrenched his position . Two days later the opposing forces clashed in battle . On the Allied left flank the Prince of Orange led his Dutch infantry in desperate charges only to have it cut to pieces . On the other flank , Eugene attacked and suffered almost as severely . Nevertheless , sustained pressure on his extremities forced Villars to weaken his centre , enabling Marlborough to break through and claim victory . Yet the cost was high : the allied casualty figures were approximately double that of the enemy ( sources vary ) , leading Marlborough to admit – " The French have defended themselves better in this action than in any battle I ' ve seen . " The Duke proceeded to take Mons on 20 October , but on his return to England his enemies used the Malplaquet casualty figures to sully his reputation . Harley , now master of the Tory party , did all he could to persuade his colleagues that the pro - war Whigs – and by their apparent concord with Whig policy , Marlborough and Godolphin – were bent on leading the country to ruin . Endgame . The Allies had confidently expected that victory in a major set - piece battle would compel Louis XIV to accept peace on Allied terms , but after Malplaquet ( the bloodiest battle of the war ) , that strategy had lost its validity : Villars had only to avoid defeat for a compromise peace settlement to become inevitable . In March 1710 , fresh peace talks re - opened at Geertruidenberg , but again Louis XIV would not concede Whig demands to force his grandson , Philip V , from Spain . Publicly Marlborough toed the government line , but privately he had real doubts about pressing the French into accepting such a dishonourable course . Although the Duke was only an observer at Geertruidenberg , the failed negotiations gave credence to his detractors that he was deliberately prolonging the war for his own profit . Yet it was with reluctance that he returned to campaigning in the spring , capturing Douai in June , before taking Béthune , and Saint - Venant , followed in November by Aire - sur - la - Lys . Nevertheless , support for the pro - war policy of the Whigs had , by this time , ebbed away . The Cabinet had long lacked cohesion and mutual trust ( particularly following the Sacheverell affair ) when in the summer the plan to break it up , prepared by Harley , was brought into action by the Queen . Sunderland was dismissed in June , followed by Godolphin ( who had refused to sever his ties with Sarah ) in August . Others followed . The result of the general election in October was a Tory landslide and a victory for the peace policy . Marlborough remained at the head of the army , however . The defeated Junto , the Dutch , Eugene and the Emperor , implored him to stand by the common cause , while the new ministers , knowing they had to fight another campaign , required him to maintain the pressure on the enemy until they had made their own arrangements for the peace . The Duke , ' much thinner and greatly altered ' , returned to England in November . His relationship with Anne had suffered further setbacks in recent months ( she had refused to grant him his requested appointment of Captain - General for life , and had interfered in military appointments ) . The damage done to Marlborough ' s general standing was substantial because it was so visible . For now , though , the central issue was the Duchess whose growing resentment of Harley and Abigail had finally persuaded the Queen to be rid of her . Marlborough visited Anne on 17 January 1711 ( O . S . ) in a last attempt to save his wife , but she was not to be swayed , and demanded Sarah give up her Gold Key ( the symbol of her office ) within two days , warning , " I will talk of no other business till I have the key . " Notwithstanding all this turmoil – and his declining health – Marlborough returned to The Hague in late February to prepare for what was to be his last campaign , and one of his greatest . Once again Marlborough and Villars formed against each other in line of battle , this time along the Avesnes - le - Comte – Arras sector of the lines of " Non Plus Ultra " ( " see map " ) . By an exercise of brilliant psychological deception , and a secretive night march covering nearly 40 miles in 18 hours , the Allies penetrated the allegedly impregnable lines without losing a single man ; Marlborough was now in position to besiege the fortress of Bouchain . Villars , deceived and outmanoeuvred , was helpless to intervene , compelling the fortress ' s unconditional surrender on 12 September . Chandler writes – " The pure military artistry with which he repeatedly deceived Villars during the first part of the campaign has few equals in the annals of military history . . . the subsequent siege of Bouchain with all its technical complexities , was an equally fine demonstration of martial superiority . " For Marlborough , though , time had run out . His strategic gains in 1711 made it virtually certain that the Allies would march on Paris the following year , but Harley had no intention of letting the war progress that far and risk jeopardising the favourable terms secured from the secret Anglo - French talks ( based on the idea that Philip V would remain on the Spanish throne ) that had proceeded throughout the year . Marlborough had long had doubts about the Whig policy of ' No Peace without Spain ' , but he was reluctant to abandon his allies ( including the Elector of Hanover , Anne ' s heir presumptive ) , and sided with the Whigs in opposing the peace preliminaries . Personal entreaties from the Queen ( who had long tired of the war ) , failed to persuade the Duke . The Elector made it clear that he too was against the proposals , and publicly sided with the Whigs . Nevertheless , Anne remained resolute , and on 7 December 1711 ( O . S . ) she was able to announce that – " notwithstanding those who delight in the arts of war " – a sneer towards Marlborough – " both time and place are appointed for opening the treaty of a general peace . " Dismissal . To prevent the serious renewal of warfare in the spring , it was considered essential to replace Marlborough with a general more in touch with the Queen ' s ministers and less in touch with their allies . To do this , Harley ( newly created Earl of Oxford ) and St John first needed to bring charges of corruption against the Duke , completing the anti - Whig , anti - war picture that Jonathan Swift was already presenting to a credulous public through his pamphleteering , notably in his " Conduct of the Allies " ( 1711 ) . The means to achieve Marlborough ' s fall had already been put in train when the Ministry had set up a Parliamentary ' Commission for the taking , examining and stating the public accounts of the Kingdom ' , to report on alleged irregularities during the war . Two main charges were brought to the House of Commons against Marlborough : first , an assertion that over nine years he had illegally received more than £63 , 000 from the bread and transport contractors in the Netherlands ; second , that he had taken 2 . 5 % from the pay of the foreign troops in English pay , amounting to £280 , 000 . Despite Marlborough ' s refutations ( claiming ancient precedent for the first allegation , and , for the second , producing a warrant signed by the Queen in 1702 authorising him to make the deductions in lieu of secret - service money for the war ) , the findings were enough for Harley to persuade the Queen to release her Captain - General . On 29 December 1711 ( O . S . ) , before the charges had been examined , Anne , who owed to him the success and glory of her reign , sent her letter of dismissal : " I am sorry for your own sake the reasons are become so public which makes it necessary for me to let you know you have render ' d it impracticable for you to continue yet longer in my service " . The Tory dominated Parliament concluded by a substantial majority that , ' the taking of several sums of money annually by the Duke of Marlborough from the contractor for foraging the bread and wagons . . . was unwarrantable and illegal ' , and that the 2 . 5 % deducted from the pay of foreign troops ' is public money and ought to be accounted for . ' When his successor , the Duke of Ormonde , left London for The Hague to take command of British forces he went , noted Bishop Burnet , with ' the same allowances that had been lately voted criminal in the Duke of Marlborough ' . The Allies were stunned by Marlborough ' s dismissal . The French , however , rejoiced at the removal of the main obstacle to the Anglo - French talks . Oxford ( Harley ) and St John had no intention of letting Britain ' s new Captain - General undertake any action , and issued Ormonde his ' restraining orders ' in May , forbidding him to use British troops in action against the French – an infamous step that ultimately ruined Eugene ' s campaign in Flanders . Marlborough continued to make his views known , but he was in trouble : attacked by his enemies and the government press ; with his fortune in peril and Blenheim Palace still unfinished and running out of money ; and with England split between Hanoverian and Jacobite factions , Marlborough thought it wise to leave the country . After attending Godolphin ' s funeral on 7 October ( O . S . ) , he went into voluntary exile to the Continent on 1 December 1712 ( O . S . ) . Return to favour . Marlborough was welcomed and fêted by the people and courts of Europe , where he was not only respected as a great general but also as a prince of the Holy Roman Empire . Sarah joined him in February 1713 , and was delighted when on reaching Frankfurt in the middle of May to see that the troops under Eugene ' s command paid her lord ' all the respects as if he had been at his old post ' . The Duke also journeyed to his principality of Mindelheim which was destined , as he suspected , to revert to Bavaria at the conclusion of the peace negotiations . Throughout his travels Marlborough remained in close contact with the Electoral court of Hanover , determined to ensure a bloodless Hanoverian succession on Anne ' s death . He also maintained correspondence with the Jacobites . The spirit of the age saw little wrong in Marlborough ' s continuing friendship with his nephew , the Duke of Berwick , James II ' s illegitimate son with Arabella . But these assurances against a Jacobite restoration ( which he had been taking out since the early years of William III , no matter how insincere ) , stirred Hanoverian suspicions , and perhaps prevented him from holding the first place in the counsels of the future George I . The representatives of France , Great Britain , and the Dutch Republic signed the Treaty of Utrecht on 11 April 1713 ( O . S . ) – the Emperor and his German allies , including the Elector of Hanover , continued with the war before finally accepting the general settlement the following year . The Treaty marked Britain ' s emergence as a great power . Domestically , however , the country remained divided between Whig and Tory , Jacobite and Hanoverian factions . By now Oxford and St John ( Viscount Bolingbroke since 1712 ) – absorbed entirely by their mutual enmity and political squabbling – had effectively wrecked the Tory administration . Marlborough had been kept well informed of events while in exile and had remained a powerful figure on the political scene , not least because of the personal attachment the Queen still retained for him . After the death of his daughter Elizabeth from smallpox in March 1714 , Marlborough contacted the Queen . Although the contents of the letter are unknown it is possible that Anne may have summoned him home . Either way , it seems that an agreement was reached to reinstate the Duke in his former offices . Oxford ' s period of predominance was now at an end , and Anne turned to Bolingbroke and Marlborough to assume the reins of government and ensure a smooth succession . But beneath the weight of hostility the Queen ' s health , already fragile , rapidly deteriorated , and on 1 August 1714 ( O . S . ) – the day the Marlboroughs returned to England – she died . The Privy Council immediately proclaimed the Elector of Hanover King George I of England . The Jacobites had proved incapable of action ; what Daniel Defoe called the ' solidity of the constitution ' had triumphed , and the regents chosen by George prepared for his arrival . The accession boded ill for the ' men of Utrecht ' – Bolingbroke and Oxford . Bolingbroke ( a staunch Jacobite ) fled to France , while vengeful Whigs pursued Oxford to the Tower . In contrast , Marlborough was received with the greatest cordiality . The new King had not entirely forgiven him his flirtations with Saint - Germain , and he had no intention of employing him in any but military capacities . However , reappointed as Captain - General , Master - General of Ordnance , and Colonel of the 1st Foot Guards , Marlborough once more became a person of influence and respect at court . The Duke ' s return to favour under the House of Hanover enabled him to preside over the defeat of the 1715 Jacobite rising from London ( although it was his former assistant , Cadogan , who directed the operations ) . But his health was fading , and on 28 May 1716 ( O . S . ) , shortly after the death of his daughter Anne , Countess of Sunderland , he suffered a paralytic stroke at Holywell House . This was followed by another , more severe stroke in November , this time at a house on the Blenheim estate . The Duke recovered somewhat , but while his speech had become impaired his mind remained clear , recovering enough to ride out to watch the builders at work on Blenheim Palace and attend the Lords to vote for Oxford ' s impeachment . In 1719 the Duke and Duchess were able to move into the east wing of the unfinished palace , but Marlborough had only three years to enjoy it . While living at Windsor Lodge he suffered another stroke in June 1722 , not long after his 72nd birthday . Finally , at 4 a . m on 16 June ( O . S . ) , in the presence of his wife and two surviving daughters Henrietta Godolphin and Mary Montagu , the 1st Duke of Marlborough died . He was initially buried in the vault at the east end of Henry VII ' s chapel in Westminster Abbey , but following instructions left by Sarah , who died in 1744 , Marlborough was moved to be by her side lying in the vault beneath the chapel at Blenheim . Assessment . To military historians David Chandler and Richard Holmes , Marlborough is the greatest British commander in history , an assessment that is shared by others , including the Duke of Wellington who could " conceive nothing greater than Marlborough at the head of an English army . " However , the Whig historian , Thomas Macaulay , denigrates Marlborough throughout the pages of his " History of England " who , in the words of historian John Wilson Croker , pursues the Duke with " more than the ferocity , and much less than the sagacity , of a bloodhound . " According to historian George Trevelyan , Macaulay ' instinctively desired to make Marlborough ' s genius stand out bright against the background of his villainy ' . It was in response to Macaulay ' s " History " that a descendant Winston Churchill wrote his laudatory biography , " " ( 4 vol . 1933 – 1938 ) . Marlborough was ruthlessly ambitious , relentless in the pursuit of wealth , power and social advancement , earning him a reputation for avarice and miserliness . These traits may have been exaggerated for the purposes of party faction but , notes Trevelyan , nearly all other statesmen of the day were engaged in founding families and amassing estates at the public expense ; Marlborough only differed in that he gave the public much more value for their money . In his quest for fame and personal interests he could be unscrupulous , as his desertion of James II testifies . To Macaulay this is regarded as a piece of selfish treachery against his patron ; an analysis shared by the Catholic historian G . K . Chesterton : " Churchill , as if to add something ideal to his imitation of Iscariot , went to James with wanton professions of love and loyalty . . . and then calmly handed over the army to the invader . " To Trevelyan , Marlborough ' s behaviour during the 1688 revolution was a sign of his ' devotion to the liberties of England and the Protestant religion ' . However , his continuing correspondence with Saint - Germain was not noble . Although Marlborough did not wish for a Jacobite restoration his double - dealing ensured that William III and George I would never be fully disposed to trust him . Marlborough ' s weakness during Anne ' s reign lay in the English political scene . His determination to preserve the independence of the Queen ' s administration from control of party faction initially enjoyed full support , but once royal favour turned elsewhere , the Duke , like his key ally Godolphin , found himself isolated ; first becoming little more than a servant of the Whigs , then a victim of the Tories . Captain - General . On the grand strategic level Marlborough had a rare grasp of the broad issues involved , and was able from the start of the Spanish Succession war to see the conflict in its entirety . He was one of the few influences working towards genuine unity within the Grand Alliance , but the extension of the war aims to include the replacement of Philip V as King of Spain was a fatal mistake . Marlborough stands accused – possibly for political and diplomatic reasons – of not pressing his private doubts about reinforcing failure . Spain proved a continuous drain of men and resources , and ultimately hampered his chances of complete success in Flanders , the war ' s main theatre . The Allies did come close to a complete victory on several occasions , but the increasingly severe conditions imposed upon Louis XIV forestalled an early end to hostilities . Although the Duke lost his political influence in the latter stages of the war he still possessed vast prestige abroad , yet his failure to communicate his innermost convictions to his allies or political masters means he must bear some responsibility for the continuance of the war beyond its logical conclusion . As a commander Marlborough preferred battle over slow moving siege warfare . Aided by an expert staff ( particularly his carefully selected " aides - de - camp " such as Cadogan ) , as well as enjoying a close personal relationship with the talented Imperial commander , Prince Eugene , Marlborough proved far - sighted , often far ahead of his contemporaries in his conceptions , and was a master at assessing his enemy ' s characteristics in battle . Marlborough was more likely to manoeuvre than his opponents , and was better at maintaining operational tempo at critical times , yet the Duke qualifies more as a great practitioner within the constraints of early 18th century warfare , rather than as a great innovator who radically redefined military theory . Nevertheless , his predilection for fire , movement , and co - ordinated all - arms attacks , lay at the root of his great battlefield successes . As an administrator Marlborough was also without peer ; his attention to detail meant his troops rarely went short of supply – when his army arrived at its destination it was intact and in a fit state to fight . This concern for the welfare of the common soldier together with his ability to inspire trust and confidence , and his willingness to share the dangers of battle , often earned him adulation from his men – " The known world could not produce a man of more humanity , " observed Corporal Matthew Bishop . It was this range of abilities that makes Marlborough outstanding . Even his old adversaries recognised the Duke ' s qualities . In his " Letters on the Study of History " ( 1752 ) , Bolingbroke declared – " I take with pleasure this opportunity of doing justice to that great man . . . [ whose memory ] as the greatest general , and as the greatest minister that our country , or perhaps any other has produced , I honour . " His success was made possible because of his enormous reserves of stamina , willpower and self - discipline ; his ability to hold together the Alliance against France , made possible by his victories , can hardly be overestimated . As direct descendant Winston Churchill declared : " He commanded the armies of Europe against France for ten campaigns . He fought four great battles and many important actions . . . He never fought a battle that he did not win , nor besieged a fortress that he did not take . . . He quitted war invincible . " No other British soldier has ever carried so great a weight and variety of responsibility .