Edward Harvey
Encyclopedia
Admiral Sir Edward Harvey, GCB
was an officer of the Royal Navy
during the French Revolutionary
and Napoleonic Wars
and continued in the service during the first half of the nineteenth century during which he participated in the bombardment of Acre
in 1840. Harvey was the son of John Harvey
an officer killed in action at the Glorious First of June
and was related to several senior officers of the period in the distinguished Harvey family. A great-grandson, Francis Harvey
won the Victoria Cross
in 1916, sacrificing himself to save over 1,000 lives.
, Kent
to Captain John Harvey and his wife Judith. the second brother of a large family, Harvey was educated at home before joining his father on his ship HMS Brunswick
as a "gentleman volunteer" aged only ten at the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars
in 1793. Gaining experience of the service under his father and accompanied by his cousin Thomas Harvey
, young Edward was present during the Glorious First of June
, when a British Fleet under Admiral Lord Howe
engaged a French force several hundred miles out in the North Atlantic. The battle was fought to contest the passage of a grain convy from the United States
to France and although the French lost the battle, they did give the convoy time to reach the French Atlantic ports.
Brunswick suffered greatly in the battle however, becoming entangled with the French ship Vengeur du Peuple
and both ships taking terrible damage, the Vengeur sinking soon afterwards and Brunswick only just reaching home with hundreds of dead and wounded. Amongst the latter was Harvey's father, who died in Portsmouth
of severe wounds on 30 July. Edward and his elder brother John
both benefited from the celebrity attached to the family after their father's heroic death and Edward was sent to join John and Thomas aboard HMS Prince of Wales
, the flagship commanded by their uncle Admiral Henry Harvey
.
HMS Beaulieu which was engaged at the Battle of Camperdown
soon afterwards. In the battle British ships of all sizes were engaged in stopping a Dutch fleet intended to aid the invasion of Ireland and the battle was fought close inshore so that many of the Dutch ships were wrecked in the aftermath of the action. Beaulieu came through the action largely unscathed however and in the next few years Harvey, as a midshipman
, followed his elder brother John into the frigates HMS Southampton
and HMS Amphitrite
.
In 1801 Harvey was made lieutenant
and over the next seven years was constantly engaged in the North Sea
and the Mediterranean in a variety of ships. In 1808 he was promoted to commander
and took on his first independent command, the sloop
HMS Cephalus. In 1811 Harvey was again promoted to post captain and took command of the frigate HMS Topaze
on his first commission. The ship paid off in 1812 and Harvey spent the next eighteen years pursuing interests ashore. During this time he married a Miss Cannon from Deal, Kent
, with whom he had six children. The eldest was named Henry for his uncle and later became a captain in the Royal Navy.
and the East Indies. In 1838 he commanded the ship of the line
HMS Malabar
in the West Indies and he subsequently commanded HMS Implacable
in the Mediterranean. During his time in the latter ship, Harvey was engaged in the bombardment of the Turkish city of Acre
during operations against the forces of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt
. In 1847 after another five year retirement, Harvey became a rear-admiral and the following year was appointed superintendent of Malta
, a posting he held for five years with his flag in HMS Ceylon.
During his next retirement in 1853, Harvey continued to climb ranks, being made a vice-admiral in 1854 before being recalled in 1857 as Commander-in-Chief, The Nore until 1860. In reward for these services, Harvey was advanced to full admiral in 1860 and knighted in 1861, being raised to a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath before his death at the family estate in Walmer
, Kent
in 1865.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
was an officer of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
during the French Revolutionary
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
and Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
and continued in the service during the first half of the nineteenth century during which he participated in the bombardment of Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
in 1840. Harvey was the son of John Harvey
John Harvey (Royal Navy officer)
Captain John Harvey was an officer of the British Royal Navy whose death in the aftermath of the battle of the Glorious First of June where he had commanded the HMS Brunswick terminated a long and highly successful career and made him a celebrity in Britain, a memorial to his memory being raised...
an officer killed in action at the Glorious First of June
Glorious First of June
The Glorious First of June [Note A] of 1794 was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars...
and was related to several senior officers of the period in the distinguished Harvey family. A great-grandson, Francis Harvey
Francis Harvey
Major Francis John William Harvey, VC was an officer of the British Royal Marine Light Infantry during the First World War. Harvey was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military award for gallantry in the face of the enemy given to British and Commonwealth forces, for his...
won the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
in 1916, sacrificing himself to save over 1,000 lives.
Early career
Edward Harvey was born at the family home in EastryEastry
Eastry is a civil parish and remote, yet historically significant village four kilometres SW of Sandwich, in Kent, that was voted "Kent Village of the Year 2005".-Etymology:...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
to Captain John Harvey and his wife Judith. the second brother of a large family, Harvey was educated at home before joining his father on his ship HMS Brunswick
HMS Brunswick (1790)
HMS Brunswick was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 30 April 1790 at Deptford.On 29 October 1792, three condemned mutineers of the Mutiny on the Bounty were hanged from her yardarms....
as a "gentleman volunteer" aged only ten at the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
in 1793. Gaining experience of the service under his father and accompanied by his cousin Thomas Harvey
Thomas Harvey (Royal Navy officer)
Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Harvey, KCB was a senior Royal Navy officer who saw service in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and died as commander-in-chief on the West Indies Station...
, young Edward was present during the Glorious First of June
Glorious First of June
The Glorious First of June [Note A] of 1794 was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars...
, when a British Fleet under Admiral Lord Howe
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe
Admiral of the Fleet Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe KG was a British naval officer, notable in particular for his service during the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars. He was the brother of William Howe and George Howe.Howe joined the navy at the age of thirteen and served...
engaged a French force several hundred miles out in the North Atlantic. The battle was fought to contest the passage of a grain convy from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to France and although the French lost the battle, they did give the convoy time to reach the French Atlantic ports.
Brunswick suffered greatly in the battle however, becoming entangled with the French ship Vengeur du Peuple
French ship Vengeur du Peuple
The Vengeur du Peuple was a 74 gun ship of the line of the French Navy launched in 1762.Originally offered by the city of Marseille, and named the Marseillois , she saw action during the American War of Independence...
and both ships taking terrible damage, the Vengeur sinking soon afterwards and Brunswick only just reaching home with hundreds of dead and wounded. Amongst the latter was Harvey's father, who died in Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
of severe wounds on 30 July. Edward and his elder brother John
John Harvey (Royal Navy admiral)
Admiral Sir John Harvey, KCB was an officer of the British Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars who held numerous commands and served in several actions during his long and distinguished career...
both benefited from the celebrity attached to the family after their father's heroic death and Edward was sent to join John and Thomas aboard HMS Prince of Wales
HMS Prince of Wales (1794)
HMS Prince of Wales was a 98-gun second rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 28 June 1794 at Portsmouth.She was present at the Battle of Groix in 1795, and served as the flagship of Admiral Robert Calder at the Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1805. Prince of Wales was not present at...
, the flagship commanded by their uncle Admiral Henry Harvey
Henry Harvey
Admiral Sir Henry Harvey, KB was a long-serving officer of the British Royal Navy during the second half of the eighteenth century. Harvey participated in numerous naval operations and actions and especially distinguished himself at the Glorious First of June in command of...
.
Napoleonic Wars
When the company of Prince of Wales was broken up in 1797, Edward was dispatched to the frigateFrigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
HMS Beaulieu which was engaged at the Battle of Camperdown
Battle of Camperdown
The Battle of Camperdown was a major naval action fought on 11 October 1797 between a Royal Navy fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and a Dutch Navy fleet under Vice-Admiral Jan de Winter...
soon afterwards. In the battle British ships of all sizes were engaged in stopping a Dutch fleet intended to aid the invasion of Ireland and the battle was fought close inshore so that many of the Dutch ships were wrecked in the aftermath of the action. Beaulieu came through the action largely unscathed however and in the next few years Harvey, as a midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
, followed his elder brother John into the frigates HMS Southampton
HMS Southampton (1757)
HMS Southampton was the name ship of the 32-gun Southampton-class fifth-rate frigates of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1757 and served for more than half a century until wrecked in 1812.- Fate :...
and HMS Amphitrite
HMS Pomona (1778)
HMS Pomona was a 28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. The Pomona was first commissioned in September 1778 under the command of Captain William Waldegrave....
.
In 1801 Harvey was made lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
and over the next seven years was constantly engaged in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
and the Mediterranean in a variety of ships. In 1808 he was promoted to commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
and took on his first independent command, the sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
HMS Cephalus. In 1811 Harvey was again promoted to post captain and took command of the frigate HMS Topaze
HMS Topaze (1793)
HMS Topaze was a Royal Navy 32-gun frigate, originally built in 1791 as a French Magicienne class frigate. In 1793 she was captured by Lord Hood's fleet off Toulon and taken into British service under the same name.-French Revolutionary Wars:...
on his first commission. The ship paid off in 1812 and Harvey spent the next eighteen years pursuing interests ashore. During this time he married a Miss Cannon from Deal, Kent
Deal, Kent
Deal is a town in Kent England. It lies on the English Channel eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town...
, with whom he had six children. The eldest was named Henry for his uncle and later became a captain in the Royal Navy.
Return to the sea
In 1830 after a lengthy retirement, Harvey took to the sea again in command of the frigate HMS Undaunted off South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and the East Indies. In 1838 he commanded the ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
HMS Malabar
HMS Malabar (1818)
HMS Malabar was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 28 December 1818 at Bombay Dockyard. She was hulked in October 1848, eventually becoming a coal hulk, and renamed Myrtle in October 1883. The hulk was sold out of the navy in July 1905....
in the West Indies and he subsequently commanded HMS Implacable
HMS Implacable (1805)
HMS Implacable was a 74-gun third rate of the Royal Navy. She was originally the French Navy's Téméraire-class ship of the line Duguay-Trouin, launched in 1800....
in the Mediterranean. During his time in the latter ship, Harvey was engaged in the bombardment of the Turkish city of Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
during operations against the forces of Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt
Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt
Ibrahim Pasha was the eldest son of Muhammad Ali, the Wāli and unrecognised Khedive of Egypt and Sudan. He served as a general in the Egyptian army that his father established during his reign, taking his first command of Egyptian forces was when he was merely a teenager...
. In 1847 after another five year retirement, Harvey became a rear-admiral and the following year was appointed superintendent of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, a posting he held for five years with his flag in HMS Ceylon.
During his next retirement in 1853, Harvey continued to climb ranks, being made a vice-admiral in 1854 before being recalled in 1857 as Commander-in-Chief, The Nore until 1860. In reward for these services, Harvey was advanced to full admiral in 1860 and knighted in 1861, being raised to a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath before his death at the family estate in Walmer
Walmer
Walmer is a town in the district of Dover, Kent in England: located on the coast, the parish of Walmer is six miles north-east of Dover. Largely residential, its coastline and castle attract many visitors...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
in 1865.