Henry Harvey

Admiral Sir Henry Harvey KB (1737 – 28 December 1810) was a Royal Navy officer of 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 . His career took him all over the world, particularly on the North American station and in the West Indies where he commanded numerous ships and, later in his career, squadrons during the course of three different wars. Harvey was a member of a distinguished naval family, his brother was killed in action in 1794, three of his sons entered the navy and one of them was later raised to admiral himself.

Early career

Henry Harvey was born in Eythorne, Kent in 1737, the second son of Richard and Elizabeth Harvey. With his elder brother John Harvey, Henry was educated in France during the 1740s and in 1751 joined the Royal Navy, a service his brother also joined three years later. Harvey was encouraged into service by the distantly related Sir Peircy Brett, whose patronage supported Harvey throughout his career. John Harvey died of wounds received in the action a month later and days after his death his brother was promoted to flag rank as a rear-admiral. Harvey first commanded a squadron in the North Sea, but in June 1795 with his flag in , Harvey participated in the minor victory of the Battle of Groix, where three French ships were taken. Over the winter of 1795/96, Harvey remained in the area as floating support for Sir John Borlase Warren's invasion at Quiberon Bay. and in 1797 captured Trinidad from the Spanish, taking several warships as prizes and landing Sir Ralph Abercromy's army to take the whole island. A similar attempt on Puerto Rico later in the year failed in the face of well-prepared Spanish defences. He settled with his wife Elizabeth (née Boys) in Walmer, Kent and in 1804 was promoted as a full admiral in retirement. He died peacefully in 1810, survived by his wife and three of his five children, including his sons Richard and Thomas. Thomas Harvey later became an admiral in his own right.