Holcroft Blood (c. 1660 – 19 August 1707) was an Anglo-Irish soldier, notable for his service as an engineer and artillery commander under the Duke of Marlborough during the War of the Spanish Succession.
He was the son of Thomas Blood, an adventurer who became notorious for his failed attempts to steal the crown jewels from the Tower of London and assassinate the Duke of Ormonde.
In 1672, without his father's permission he enlisted in the Royal Navy during the Third Anglo-Dutch War, then served as a cadet in the Guards of Louis XIV of France.
He married around this time to a widow named Elizabeth Fowler, but she later sued him for assault and adultery and they separated.
[1] He gained further military experience serving during the Williamite War in Ireland (1689–91), fighting for the forces of William of Orange against the Jacobite Irish Army.