Eliab Harvey

Admiral Sir Eliab Harvey (5 December 1758 – 20 February 1830) was a Royal Navy officer and politician who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and was as distinguished for his gambling and dueling as for his military record. Although Harvey was a significant naval figure for over twenty years, his martial reputation was largely based on his experiences at the Battle of Trafalgar, when he took his ship HMS Temeraire into the thick of the action. Harvey used Temeraire to force the surrender of two French ships of the line and later created his family motto from the names of his opponents in the engagement; "Redoutable et Fougueux".

In his civilian life, Harvey pursued political interests and spent three spells as a Member of Parliament for Maldon and later Essex. During this period he was also knighted. However, Harvey was not a peaceable man and his life both in and out of the Navy was frequently punctuated by disputes with fellow officers and politicians. One such dispute, a consequence of the Battle of the Basque Roads, eventually cost Harvey his career; a bitter exchange with Lord Gambier forcing Harvey into early retirement in 1809. Although reinstated a year later, Harvey was never again employed in an official capacity and further promotions were only bestowed as a matter of seniority.

Harvey was also notable in his time for his extravagant lifestyle. The deaths of his father and elder brother while he was still a young man provided Harvey with a considerable fortune, much of which he squandered gambling in London. Harvey's exploits at the gaming tables became legendary, one story claiming that he once bet £100,000 on a single game of chance and lost, only to win most of it back on the following throw. Despite his dissolute lifestyle, Harvey was married and had numerous children; he was survived by six daughters and had three sons who predeceased him.

Early life Eliab Harvey was born in Chigwell, Essex to William and Emma Harvey. His father William Harvey (1714-1763) was a Member of Parliament for Essex, but died when Harvey was only five years old.

Until 1768, Harvey was raised at the family estate of Rolls Park in Chigwell, which had passed to his elder brother William on the death of their father. Harvey then attended Westminster School for two years before moving to Harrow School in 1770.

Civilian life

With the peace of 1783, Harvey again took leave from the navy, seeing out his parliamentary term and continuing his notorious lifestyle of gambling and debauchery. The young death of Harvey's elder brother William Harvey, MP in April 1779 had provided Harvey with a substantial fortune, which he immediately began squandering in epic nights at London's fashionable drinking and gambling establishments. Harvey gained a reputation among this crowd for playing exceptionally high stakes; one often repeated story concerns his loss, on his 21st birthday in 1779, of over £100,000 in a single game of hazard to a Mr O'Byrne. O'Byrne, recognising that such a sum would bankrupt his opponent, refused to take more than £10,000, insisting that they roll the dice again to determine the fate of the remaining £90,000. Harvey won and kept his fortune, but reportedly still failed to pay the £10,000. In May 1794 Harvey returned to Britain and served in the squadron under Sir John Borlase Warren which raided the French coast with great success in 1794 and 1795.

In August 1795, Harvey took command of the ship of the line HMS Valiant, initially in the Channel Fleet and later in the West Indies under Sir Hyde Parker. In 1797 Harvey returned to Britain due to ill-health, and was given command of the Essex sea fencibles during the next year. Even after returning to the Navy in 1803 as captain of the second rate HMS Temeraire, Harvey remained in parliament, serving until 1812.

Trafalgar Temeraire at the Battle of Trafalgar from the painting The Battle of Trafalgar by J. M. W. Turner With the resumption of the war against France, Temeraire was attached to the Channel Fleet and blockaded ports in eastern France until 1805, when Harvey was sent to join Horatio Nelson's blockade off Cádiz. When the Battle of Trafalgar was joined on 21 October, Harvey's Temeraire was the second ship in Nelson's division and was a faster and more agile ship than HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship. As a result, Temeraire began to pull ahead of Victory as the division closed on the Franco-Spanish fleet and Harvey was consequently reprimanded by Nelson, who hailed Temeraire: "I will thank you Captain Harvey, to keep your proper station which is astern of the Victory".

During the combat that followed, Harvey was heavily engaged with the Franco-Spanish fleet, passing behind Bucentaure and astern of Redoutable. The three ships then drifted into the following French Fougueux, British fire disabling her and giving cover to a boarding party led by Temeraires first-lieutenant, Thomas Fortescue Kennedy, which forced the surrender of Fougueux's crew. and given the honour of being one of Nelson's pallbearers at the admiral's funeral despite their short acquaintance. Harvey's new motto and his penchant for "bragging" further alienated him from his fellow officers. He was also made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1815 when the order was reformed, becoming a Knight Grand Cross in 1825. Harvey's retirement included a further period in politics, returning to his seat as MP for Essex between 1820 and 1830.

Harvey died in 1830 at his family estate of Rolls Park and was buried in the Harvey family crypt at St Andrew's Church at Hempstead, Essex, near Saffron Walden, which contains the remains of over 50 family members, including his ancestor's brother, Dr. William Harvey. His coffin is still in the crypt, and can be viewed on request.

The crest of the Harvey Grammar School of Folkestone bears Harvey's motto as well as his ship's name 'Temeraire'. The crest was designed by Eliab Harvey.

Arms