Background
Harvey was the eldest son of Captain John Harvey who was a distinguished officer of the eighteenth century who was killed in action at the battle of the Glorious First of June.
Harvey was the eldest son of Captain John Harvey who was a distinguished officer of the eighteenth century who was killed in action at the battle of the Glorious First of June.
His service continued until 1790 when at 18 he was promoted to lieutenant. Actively employed at the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars, Harvey was aided by family influence and gained command of the sloop HMS Actif on 5 September 1794 in the West Indies. Within three months, supported by the influence gained from his father"s death at the Glorious First of June in the same year, Harvey was made post-captain, receiving promotion on 16 December.
Thanks to family influence Harvey gained a prime commission in January 1795, serving aboard his uncle"s flagship the second-rate HMS Prince of Wales as captain.
Harvey was chosen to be sent home with the dispatches telling of the victory. During the next few years Harvey commanded several ships, including the frigates HMS Southampton and HMS Amphitrite in the West Indies and as part of the Cadiz blockade.
Benfitting from the Navy reforms surrounding the Peace of Amiens, Harvey took command of the HMS Agamemnon in which he participated in Sir Robert Calder"s action at the Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1805, part of the prelude to the Battle of Trafalgar which Harvey narrowly missed. At Finisterre Harvey"s ship suffered only three wounded and he left the ships to take over HMS Canada.
Thus it was Sir Edward Berry who led the Agamemnon at Trafalgar a few months later.
From Canada, Harvey moved first to HMS Leviathan and then the HMS Royal Sovereign, a first-rate on which he was promoted to rear-admiral in December 1813. Flag rank limited Harvey"s employment prospects and it was not until the war was over that he was actively employed again, becoming commander-in-chief of the West Indies between 1816 and 1819. Harvey died on 17 February 1837 at his home in Deal.
