John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough
![Picture](/uploads/5/7/6/0/57609593/1440629_orig.jpg)
John Churchill was born in 1650. He was an ancestor of Sir Winston Churchill.
His first job was page-boy for the Duke of York. However, by 1685, at the time of the Monmouth Rebellion, Churchill was already a Major-General in the army of King James II.
The Monmouth Rebellion was unsuccessful. Churchill was a commander of King James' army at the Battle of Sedgemoor, which ended the rebellion. The cruelty of the punishments which were later meted out to the rebels by Judge Jeffries may well have added to other concerns that John Churchill already had about the way King James II was ruling the country (particularly, concerns that King James was attempting to favour Catholicism).
Because of these concerns, John Churchill, with 400 other officers and men, deserted from the army of James II and defected to William's army at Axminster in 1688.
It would seem that, for Churchill, loyalty was a flexible concept because, after some time in the service of William, he and others secretly re-established contact with James in France.
His first job was page-boy for the Duke of York. However, by 1685, at the time of the Monmouth Rebellion, Churchill was already a Major-General in the army of King James II.
The Monmouth Rebellion was unsuccessful. Churchill was a commander of King James' army at the Battle of Sedgemoor, which ended the rebellion. The cruelty of the punishments which were later meted out to the rebels by Judge Jeffries may well have added to other concerns that John Churchill already had about the way King James II was ruling the country (particularly, concerns that King James was attempting to favour Catholicism).
Because of these concerns, John Churchill, with 400 other officers and men, deserted from the army of James II and defected to William's army at Axminster in 1688.
It would seem that, for Churchill, loyalty was a flexible concept because, after some time in the service of William, he and others secretly re-established contact with James in France.
![Picture](/uploads/5/7/6/0/57609593/2117018_orig.jpg)
However, the secret was not well-kept and William learnt of Churchill's contacts with James, but tolerated the situation because he needed Marlborough's military and other skills.