The Battle of Sedgemoor
Marlborough had long been in the service of the Crown before this great military campaign. In 1685 he was close to the centre of events and controversies surrounding the Royal family. There was opposition in the country against the new King James II because he was a Catholic. The Duke of Monmouth, an illegitimate son of Charles II, led a Protestant rebellion against the King. Feversham was appointed to lead the King's army against this rebellion but it was John Churchill (later 1st Duke of Marlborough) who ensured victory at the Battle of Sedgemoor. The rebels were soundly defeated. Churchill left after the battle and took no part in the savage reprisals that took place afterwards on the orders of the infamous Judge Jeffreys. Churchill was disappointed that it was Feversham who gained all the rewards from the King after this Battle. During the reign of James II Churchill’s wife, Sarah, became very close to the King’s younger daughter, Anne. When it appeared that the King had high hopes of persuading Anne to become a Catholic, John and Sarah advised her to stand firm in the Protestant faith. Churchill also wrote to William of Orange to assure him that he (Churchill) would remain a Protestant. This paved the way for Churchill’s transfer of loyalties from James to William of Orange during the Glorious Revolution in 1688. (William of Orange was the husband of James’s elder daughter, Mary). Protestants hoped that James would die without a son and so William and Mary would inherit the throne. When William was in negotiation with the rebels he agreed to accept the Crown on the understanding that he would rule as a joint monarch. This meant that should his wife pre-decease him, William could then continue to rule as King in his own right. Churchill wrote to William ‘In all things but [my religion] the King may command me.’