Charles Mohun, 4th Baron Mohun

Charles Mohun, 4th Baron Mohun ( – 15 November 1712), was an English Army officer and diplomat best known for his frequent participation in duels. He was killed in the Hamilton–Mohun duel in Hyde Park, London.

Life

Mohun was the second child of Charles Mohun, 3rd Baron Mohun, and his wife Philippa Annesley, a daughter of Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey. His father died shortly after his birth, following a duel, and left him the family estate. The estate, however, was heavily in debt. Due to this Mohun received no education, and was forced to resort to gambling in order to support his lavish lifestyle.

Mohun joined the English Army shortly after his acquittal. There he served under Charles Gerard, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield, the uncle of his former wife, and briefly served in France. In 1697 the Lords again tried Mohun for the murder of Richard Coote following a duel on Leicester Square. Mohun was again acquitted, although his friend Edward Rich, 6th Earl of Warwick was found guilty of manslaughter. In 1712, two years after Mohun's Whig party had been heavily defeated in an election, the Duke of Hamilton gained the post of special envoy to Paris. Also at this time, Mohun's legal dispute with Hamilton over his inheritance of the Macclesfield estate was going badly. Shortly before Hamilton's scheduled departure for France, Mohun challenged him to a duel which was fought on 15 November in Hyde Park. Macartney fled and was charged, but acquitted by his peers on his return from France, and the conclusion was that Mohun had wounded Hamilton mortally before dying.

Legacy William Makepeace Thackeray fictionalised Mohun's duels in his novel The History of Henry Esmond.

Mohun and Hamilton suffered such horrific injuries that the government passed legislation banning the use of seconds in such duels. Also as a result swords were replaced as the weapons of choice in duels by the pistol, which tended to result in shorter and less bloody fights.

Footnotes