WILLIAM CADOGAN descended from a family of great honour and antiquity in Wales; and having embraced the profession of arms, he distinguished himself under King William III. in Ireland and Flanders, and was appointed major of the Inniskilling Dragoons. On the breaking out of hostilities in 1701, his great merit and abilities, which had become conspicuous in the preceding war, occasioned him to be promoted to the rank of colonel in the army, and appointed (1st June, 1701) quartermaster-general of the troops sent to Holland. He eminently distinguished himself under the great Duke of Marlborough, whose confidence and esteem he possessed in a high degree, and was promoted, in 1703, from the Inniskilling Dragoons to the colonelcy of the SIXTH HORSE. Advancing with the army into Germany he signalized himself at the battle of Schellenberg, on the 2d of July, 1704, where he had several shots through his clothes, and was wounded in the thigh. At the battle of Blenheim he evinced that undaunted bravery and greatness of soul with which he was signally endowed, and was promoted immediately afterwards to the rank of brigadier-general. In the following year he again signalized himself at the forcing of the French lines, where his regiment defeated the Bavarian Guards and took four standards; and in the memorable battle of Ramilies, fought on the 23d of May, 1706, he acquired new honour, and was despatched shortly after the action with a body of troops to summon Antwerp, which fortress surrendered to him in a few days. On the 16th of August he commanded a body of troops employed in covering a foraging party near Tournay, and advancing with his characteristic boldness too near the town, he was surprised by a party of the enemy and made prisoner; he was, however, released on his parole three days afterwards, and was subsequently exchanged for Baron Palavicini. In January, 1707, he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and he was afterwards appointed minister plenipotentiary to the government of the Spanish Netherlands, in which employment he evinced the most admirable dexterity in business, and a peculiar aptitude in conducting negotiations. He commanded the van of the army in the movements which preceded and led to the battle of Oudenarde in 1708, and on this occasion his peculiar merits again shone forth; also in the part which he took in covering the siege of Lisle, in the action at Wynendale, and in forcing the passage of the Scheldt; and on the 1st of January, 1709, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general. On the day preceding the battle of Malplaquet he was sent to confer with the French commander, and when near the enemy's position he indicated to a colonel of artillery, by dropping his glove, the spot where a battery was to be placed on the following morning, which proved of great importance. During the siege of Mons he went voluntarily into the trenches to encourage the soldiers in