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 (), 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 tourism purposes as Ireland ...

, he joined the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, serving for most of his career with the

9th Light Dragoons The 9th Queen's Royal Lancers was a Cavalry regiments of the British Army, cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the World War I, First and World War II, Second World Wars. The ...

. His garrison skillfully ambushed and destroyed a force of

United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association, formed in the wake of the French Revolution, to secure Representative democracy, representative government in Ireland. Despairing of constitutional reform, and in defiance both of British ...

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-m ...

in 1798. He briefly represented

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

in the Irish and UK Parliaments as part of his father's successful scheme to obtain a peerage by supporting the Union, 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 {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

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

Walcheren Campaign The Walcheren Campaign () was an unsuccessful United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British expedition to the Kingdom of Holland in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with First French Empire, France ...

, 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 is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

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 () was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until the end of 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chambers: the Irish Hou ...

. 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 He ...

. He was admitted to

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

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

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

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, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

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 in 1794, and transferred into the 32nd Light Dragoons 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 Republic of Ireland, Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had a population of 27,351, the List of urban areas in the Republic of Ireland, ...

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 replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

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 Earl of Kingston, Edward King, 1st Viscount Kingston. The Earl holds the subsidiary titles Baron Kingston, of Rockingham in the County of Rosc ...

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

, 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, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is situated on the R713 road (Ireland), R713 road between the villages of Stoneyford, County Kilkenny, Stoneyford t ...

for Thomas's younger brother

Stephen Stephen or Steven is an English given name, first name. It is particularly significant to Christianity, Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is w ...

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 of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

. 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 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 Dublin Castle administration, administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretar ...

, 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 (armed forces), 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 colon ...

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, musket, or rifle, which became commonplace by the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. The word is derived from the identical ...

, 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, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

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

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

, 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 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 military rank 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 battlefield, who was normall ...

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. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is ...

. 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: *Maurice (name), a given name and surname, including a list of people with the name Places * or Mauritius, an island country in the Indian Ocean *Maurice, Iowa, a city *Maurice, Louisiana, a village *Maurice River, a trib ...

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