Charles Churchill (British Army officer, born 1656)

General Charles Churchill (2 February 1656 – 29 December 1714) was an English army officer who served during the War of the Spanish Succession.

Life

Churchill was the son of Winston Churchill (1620-1688) and Elizabeth Drake. He became Lieutenant of the Tower of London in 1702.

At Blenheim, serving under his elder brother John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, he commanded 18 battalions at the center of the allied line. At the battle of Ramillies, again serving under his brother, he ordered four brigades of foot to attack the village.

He resigned his Lieutenancy of the Tower in 1706, and he served as Governor of Guernsey from 1706 to 1711.

Family

Churchill married Mary Gould, daughter of James Gould (later married to Montagu Venables-Bertie, 2nd Earl of Abingdon).

He was the father of Lieutenant-General Charles Churchill, by his mistress Elizabeth Odd, and the grandfather of Charles Churchill (of Chalfont) by his son's mistress, the actress Anne Oldfield. His grandson married Lady Maria Walpole, illegitimate daughter of Robert Walpole, and had issue including Mary Churchill (2nd wife of the Earl Cadogan and ancestor of later earls).

His sister was Arabella, a royal mistress of King James II of Great Britain, and his brother George became an admiral.