Scottish supporter of the union with England and commander of the British forces in the Jacobite rebellion of 1715.

The son of the 1st Duke of Argyll (in the Scottish peerage), he actively furthered the union of England and Scotland and was created a peer of England (1705), with the titles Earl of Greenwich and Baron of Chatham. He served under the Duke of Marlborough from 1706 in the War of the Spanish Succession, gaining distinction at the Battle of Malplaquet in 1709. He acted as commander in chief in Spain and as ambassador to the archduke Charles in 1711. Argyll's intervention at Queen Anne's last council meeting helped to ensure the Hanoverian succession (August 1714), and during the early years of George I's reign he stood in high favour at court.

As commander in chief of the forces in north Britain during the Jacobite rebellion of 1715, he managed with very little bloodshed to suppress the rising in Scotland. After a temporary eclipse, caused by disagreement with the ministry rather than the disfavour of the king, he regained his influence and was created Duke of Greenwich (1719). He held various offices and in 1736 was made a field marshal. He strenuously opposed in 1737 the bill to penalize the city of Edinburgh over the Porteous riots, and a violent speech against the government in April 1740 led again to his dismissal from office. Apart from one further short period of power, he spent the remainder of his life in retirement.