Archibald was created Duke of Douglas in 1703. He fought for the Hanoverians at Sheriffmuir in 1715 and he supported the government in the '45 rebellion.

By 1715 both the Scots and the English were discontent with their leadership. Both groups hated King George, the foreign monarch who sat on the English throne (but who spoke no English). When the Earl of Mar was seen as a political threat to the King, he was snubbed, and his response was to turn his support to the Jacobite cause. He recruited a huge army from the in 1715, and if he had been a more experienced soldier, chances are the Jacobites might have won a decisive victory under his command at the Battle of Sheriffmuir, instead of having to surrender to English officials at Preston.