Lieutenant-General Thomas Mahon, 2nd Baron Hartland (12 August 1766 – 8 December 1835), styled Hon. Thomas Mahon from 1800 to 1819, was an Irish soldier, politician and peer. Son of a landed proprietor with an estate at

Strokestown Strokestown ( ga, Béal na mBuillí), also known as Bellanamullia and Bellanamully, is a small town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is one of the 27 designated Heritage Towns in Ireland. Located in the part of the country marketed for Desti ...

, he joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, serving for most of his career with the

9th Light Dragoons The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and Second World Wars. The regiment survived the immediate post-war reduction in forces, but w ...

. His garrison skillfully ambushed and destroyed a force of

United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association in the Kingdom of Ireland formed in the wake of the French Revolution to secure "an equal representation of all the people" in a national government. Despairing of constitutional reform, ...

at the

Battle of Carlow The Battle of Carlow took place in Carlow town, Ireland on 25 May 1798 when Carlow rebels rose in support of the 1798 rebellion which had begun the day before in County Kildare. The United Irishmen organisation in Carlow led by a young brogue-ma ...

in 1798. He briefly represented

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

in the Irish and UK Parliaments as part of his father's successful scheme to obtain a peerage by supporting the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

, but this was not popular with the county electors, and he abandoned Parliament in 1802 to return to the military. He had the misfortune to be present at two military debacles of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

, the second invasion of the Río de la Plata and the

Walcheren Campaign The Walcheren Campaign ( ) was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Netherlands in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Sir John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham ...

, and while he was not personally implicated in either, he saw no further notable military service. Mahon succeeded his father as Lord Hartland in 1819 and died without issue in 1835, his title and estates passing to his youngest brother.

Early life and military service

Mahon was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

in 1766, the eldest son of Maurice Mahon and his wife Hon. Catherine Moore, and grandson of Thomas Mahon, then the representative for

in the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chamb ...

. Thomas was educated at Portarlington School and

The Royal School, Armagh The Royal School, Armagh is a co-educational voluntary grammar school, founded in the 17th century, in the city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. It has a boarding department with an international intake. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Hea ...

. He was admitted to

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

on 10 July 1782 and obtained his BA in 1786. While at Trinity, he was commissioned an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

in the

47th Regiment of Foot The 47th (Lancashire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in Scotland in 1741. It served in North America during the Seven Years' War and American Revolutionary War and also fought during the Napoleonic Wars and ...

on 17 April 1784. Admitted as a

fellow-commoner A commoner is a student at certain universities in the British Isles who historically pays for his own tuition and commons, typically contrasted with scholars and exhibitioners, who were given financial emoluments towards their fees. Cambridge ...

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

on 31 October 1786, he received his MA, by incorporation, in 1787. After college, Mahon continued his military career. On 18 December 1790, he purchased a lieutenancy in the 47th Regiment. He obtained a captaincy in the newly raised

33rd Light Dragoons The 33rd Light Dragoons also known as the Ulster Regiment of Light Dragoons was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was raised in 1794, by Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many c ...

in 1794, and transferred into the

32nd Light Dragoons The 32nd Light Dragoons was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was raised in October 1794, by Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police for ...

as a major on 26 November 1794. Major Mahon transferred into the 24th Light Dragoons on 30 April 1796, after the 32nd was disbanded. On 1 January 1797, he became a lieutenant-colonel in the

. Mahon was in command of the garrison of

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

when the United Irishmen rebelled in 1798. When he obtained intelligence of a planned attack by the rebels on the night of 24 May 1798, Mahon set a deadly ambush. Some of the townsmen left the town to join the rebels; after they left, the garrison was dispersed among strong points throughout the town. The rebels were allowed to penetrate without resistance to the Potato Market, only to be met by a withering fire. Many took refuge in houses along Tullow Street, by which they had entered. These were promptly set on fire by the garrison, and the rebels who fled the flames were shot or bayoneted in the streets. The

had come to an end by the next morning, when from four to six hundred of the rebels lay dead, with no loss to the garrison. Swift reprisals followed:

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

was imposed, and two hundred executions took place shortly after, including that of

Sir Edward Crosbie Sir Edward Crosbie, 5th Baronet ( – 5 June 1798) was a Protestant gentleman executed in Carlow, Ireland, for alleged complicity in the United Irish Rebellion in May 1798. He was accused by the Crown authorities of being in command of the rebe ...

MP for Roscommon

In 1799 Viscount Kingsborough succeeded his father as

Earl of Kingston Earl of Kingston is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1768 for Edward King, 1st Viscount Kingston. The Earl holds the subsidiary titles Baron Kingston, of Rockingham in the County of Roscommon (created in 1764), Viscount ...

and vacated his seat for County Roscommon. The Kingston interest, which opposed the

, put forth the new earl's brother, Col. Hon. Robert King to succeed him. Mahon, a pro-Unionist, gained the backing of the

Lord-Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...

, and the Dublin Castle administration enlisted the independent and Catholic interests in the county on his behalf. King ultimately retired from the contest without going to a poll, and Mahon took the seat at Roscommon. His father hoped to obtain a peerage from the administration in exchange for arranging Thomas's vote for the Union in Parliament. But Thomas found his constituents implacably hostile to the Union, and dared not vote in favour, absenting himself from Parliament instead. Maurice was forced to buy a seat at

Knocktopher Knocktopher (historically ''Knocktofer'' and ''Knocktover''; ) is a village in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is situated on the R713 road between the villages of Stoneyford to the north, and Ballyhale to the south. It was formerly situated on ...

for Thomas's younger brother

Stephen Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...

to carry out his obligations to the administration. Maurice was rewarded with the title of

Baron Hartland Baron Hartland, of Strokestown in the County of Roscommon, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 30 July 1800 for Maurice Mahon, who had earlier represented County Roscommon in the Irish House of Commons. He was the son of Th ...

after the Union, and Thomas, like other Irish county members, continued to sit for Roscommon in the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

. His tenure would not last long; the King's interest was far from defeated, and when Lord Hartland proposed a candidate for

High Sheriff of Roscommon The High Sheriff of Roscommon was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Roscommon, Ireland from 1575 until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Roscommon County Sheriff. The sherif ...

in 1801, he was informed by Charles Abbott, the

Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant", from the early 19th century un ...

, that Col. King, now Lord Erris, had put forth his own candidate and that the government would not disoblige him. Erris was wealthy and capable of fighting an expensive electoral contest; Hartland attempted to persuade Henry Augustus Dillon to stand alongside Thomas for Roscommon to bolster his popularity. Hartland failed to do so, so Thomas declined to stand for the county at the 1802 election. Absent on military service for the 1806 election, he did not return to politics, leaving his brother Stephen to represent the family interest in that seat.

Napoleonic Wars and after

He received a promotion to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

on 2 November 1805. The 9th Light Dragoons were among the regiments sent to South America after the capture of Montevideo. They were not provided with mounts, and fought as infantry. Mahon was given command of a brigade consisting of the 9th, four dismounted troops of the

Carabiniers A carabinier (also sometimes spelled carabineer or carbineer) is in principle a soldier armed with a carbine. A carbiniere is a carabiniere musket or rifle and were commonplace by the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. The word is deri ...

, and the 40th and 45th regiments of foot. Mahon, with part of his brigade, was ordered to guard the heavy artillery at Reduction, and did not personally take part in the bungled attack on

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. He was afterwards appointed a colonel on the staff of the

Walcheren Expedition The Walcheren Campaign ( ) was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Netherlands in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Sir John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham ...

, again commanding the 9th. The regiment represented the only cavalry of the army's left wing, and was so badly affected by sickness acquired there as to cripple it for the remainder of the Napoleonic Wars. He was promoted to

major-general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

on 4 June 1811. On 14 October 1811, Mahon married Catherine, the daughter of

James Topping James “Jimmy” Topping (born 18 December 1974) is an Irish rugby former player and current coach. As a player, he won eight caps for the Ireland national rugby union team between 1996 and 2003, playing on the wing. Topping was born in Belfast ...

; they had no children. He succeeded his father as Lord Hartland on 4 January 1819 and inherited the main family estates at

. Mahon and his brother Stephen were both promoted to

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

on 12 August 1819, in part to conciliate them over their lack of other military preferments, and their father's unrequited desire to be made a

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

. This was unsuccessful; Stephen, still sitting for Roscommon, went over to the opposition. Thomas died in London, aged 69, on 8 December 1835 and was succeeded by his youngest brother, Rev.

Maurice Maurice may refer to: People * Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr * Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartland, Thomas Mahon, 2nd Baron 1766 births 1835 deaths Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Mahon, Thomas Mahon, Thomas Mahon, Thomas UK MPs who inherited peerages Barons in the Peerage of Ireland Mahon, Thomas 9th Queen's Royal Lancers officers British Army lieutenant generals British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars People from Strokestown