Admiral Sir Edward Harvey, (1783 – 4 May 1865) was an officer of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

during the French Revolutionary and

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 ...

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 The Glorious First of June (1 June 1794), also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic ...

and was related to several senior officers of the period in the distinguished Harvey family. A great-grandson, Francis Harvey won the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

in 1916, sacrificing himself to save over 1,000 lives.

Early career

Edward Harvey was born at the family home in

Eastry Eastry is a civil parish in Kent, England, around southwest of Sandwich. It was voted "Kent Village of the Year 2005". The name is derived from the Old English ''Ēast- rige'', meaning "eastern province" (c.f. '' Sūþ-rige'' "southern provinc ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

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 The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted France against Britain, Austria, Prussia ...

in 1793. Gaining experience of the service under his father and accompanied by his cousin Thomas Harvey, young Edward was present during the

, when a British Fleet under Admiral Lord Howe engaged a French force several hundred miles out in the North Atlantic.Harvey, Sir Edward
''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'',

J. K. Laughton Sir John Knox Laughton (23 April 1830 – 14 September 1915) was a British naval historian and arguably the first to delineate the importance of the subject of Naval history as an independent field of study. Beginning his working life as a mathe ...

, Retrieved 26 November 2007 The battle was fought to contest the passage of a grain convoy from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

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 Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

of severe wounds on 30 July. Edward and his elder brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

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.

Napoleonic Wars

When the company of ''Prince of Wales'' was broken up in 1797, Edward was dispatched to the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

HMS ''Beaulieu'' which was engaged at the

Battle of Camperdown The Battle of Camperdown (known in Dutch as the ''Zeeslag bij Kamperduin'') was a major naval action fought on 11 October 1797, between the British North Sea Fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and a Batavian Navy (Dutch) fleet under Vice-Admiral ...

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 A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

, followed his elder brother John into the frigates HMS ''Southampton'' and HMS ''Amphitrite''. In 1801 Harvey was made

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

and over the next seven years was constantly engaged in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

and the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

in a variety of ships. In 1808 he was promoted to

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

and took on his first independent command, the

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

HMS ''Cephalus''. In 1811 Harvey was again promoted to

post captain Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of Captain (Royal Navy), captain in the Royal Navy. The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from: * Officers in command of a naval vessel, who were (and still are) ...

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 Deal is a coastal town in Kent, England, which lies where the North Sea and the English Channel meet, north-east of Dover and south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town whose history is closely linked to the anchora ...

, 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 Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and the East Indies. In 1838 he commanded the

ship of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which depended on the two colu ...

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 A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire or by dropping bombs from aircraft on fortifications, combatants, or towns and buildings. Prior to World War I, the term was only applied to the bombardment of defenseless or undefended objects, ...

of the Turkish city of Acre during operations against the forces of

Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt Ibrahim Pasha ( tr, Kavalalı İbrahim Paşa; ar, إبراهيم باشا ''Ibrāhīm Bāshā''; 1789 – 10 November 1848) was an Ottoman Albanian general in the Egyptian army and the eldest son of Muhammad Ali, the Wāli and unrecognised ...

. In 1847 after another five year retirement, Harvey became a

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarded ...

and the following year was appointed superintendent of

Malta Dockyard Malta Dockyard was an important naval base in the Grand Harbour in Malta in the Mediterranean Sea. The infrastructure which is still in operation is now operated by Palumbo Shipyards. History Pre-1800 The Knights of Malta established dockyard ...

, 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 The Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Nore Station or Nore Command. The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of the Th ...

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 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 medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

before his death at the family estate in

Walmer Walmer is a town in Dover District, the district of Dover, Kent, in England. Located on the coast, the parish of Walmer is south-east of Sandwich, Kent. Largely residential, its coastline and castle attract many visitors. It has a population of ...

in 1865.

Notes

References

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey, Edward 1783 births 1865 deaths Royal Navy admirals Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Royal Navy personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars Royal Navy personnel of the Napoleonic Wars People from Eastry Royal Navy personnel of the Egyptian–Ottoman War (1839–1841)

Early career

Napoleonic Wars

Return to the sea

Notes

See also

References