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Thomas Harvey (Royal Navy officer)
Encyclopedia
Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Harvey, KCB
(1775 – 28 May 1841) 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. The son of a senior Royal Navy officer and from a family with a long military tradition, Harvey distinguished himself under his father at the Glorious First of June
and as a post-captain in his own right at Admiral John Thomas Duckworth
's attempt to force the Dardanelles
in 1807 and commanded numerous ships and stations in the post-war period.
left for service on the North America and West Indian stations during the American Revolutionary War
. Raised in Kent
with his mother Elizabeth (neé Boys) and elder brothers, Harvey was sent to join the Navy aged only 12, serving for the next seven years aboard HMS Ramillies
. In 1793 Ramillies became his father's ship and under Captain Harvey, young Thomas participated in the battle of the Glorious First of June
when his ship rescued the embattled HMS Brunswick
commanded by his uncle John Harvey
. John Harvey died later of his wounds, but Thomas benefited from the general promotion which followed the action and became a lieutenant
.
Harvey moved from Ramillies to HMS Prince of Wales
when his father raised his flag in her and both were aboard during the Battle of Groix
where Prince of Wales was extensively engaged and three French ships of the line were taken. Remaining with his father during 1795 and the first half of 1796, Harvey benefited from family contacts to receive promotion to commander
in July 1796 and take command of the HMS Pelican, his first independent command aged just 21. In Pelican Harvey was present when his father captured Trinidad
in 1797 and as a result was awarded with promotion to post-captain
at the extremely young age of 22.
and HMS Unité for brief spells and in 1800 was recalled to England to serve with the force being prepared in the Thames under Horatio Nelson, who had been a shipmate of his father in the 1780s. Following the dispersal and then regrowth of the Navy surrounding the Peace of Amiens in 1801, Harvey was favoured with command of ship of the line HMS Standard
, which was attached to Cuthbert Collingwood's Mediterranean fleet. It was whilst serving with this force in 1807 that Harvey was present at the attempt by Admiral John Thomas Duckworth
to force the Dardanelles
and drive the Turkish Empire out of the war.
The operation was a failure, after Turkish shore batteries opened a murderous fire on the British squadron attempting to force passage on the 19 February 1807. Harvey had been instrumental in burning a Turkish squadron moored at the entrance to the Dardanelles, but during the return from Constantinople
a round shot
more than two feet in diameter crashed through Standard's lower deck, detonating a ready magazine of gun charges and killing several men before the resulting fire could be brought under control. Across the squadron as a whole, over a hundred men were killed and the operation made no effect on the diplomatic situation. In 1808 Harvey returned to England and commanded the ships of the line HMS Majestic
in the Baltic Sea
and HMS Sceptre
in the North Sea
. He did not participate in any significant actions during the remainder of the war and at the reformation of the Order of the Bath
in 1815, Harvey was made a Companion.
guardship HMS Northumberland
until in 1821 he was promoted to rear-admiral, necessitating a temporary retirement from service until a suitable position opened up.
It was not until 17 years later, in 1839, that Harvey's seniority (now a Vice-Admiral and Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath), allowed him to become Commander-in-Chief of the North America and West Indies Station, a position which both his father and his cousin John Harvey
had previously held. The command was exercised from Bermuda
, and it was there, at Admiralty House
that he died, still serving, in May 1841. He was buried on the island.
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...
(1775 – 28 May 1841) was a senior 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...
officer who saw service in 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 died as commander-in-chief on the West Indies Station. The son of a senior Royal Navy officer and from a family with a long military tradition, Harvey distinguished himself under his father 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 as a post-captain in his own right at Admiral John Thomas Duckworth
John Thomas Duckworth
Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB was a British naval officer, serving during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as the Governor of Newfoundland during the War of 1812, and a member of the British House of Commons during his...
's attempt to force the Dardanelles
Dardanelles Operation
The Dardanelles Operation was the Royal Navy's unsuccessful attempt to impose British demands on the Ottoman Empire as part of the Anglo-Turkish War ....
in 1807 and commanded numerous ships and stations in the post-war period.
Early career
Thomas Harvey was born in 1775, shortly before his Captain Henry HarveyHenry 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...
left for service on the North America and West Indian stations during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. Raised in 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...
with his mother Elizabeth (neé Boys) and elder brothers, Harvey was sent to join the Navy aged only 12, serving for the next seven years aboard HMS Ramillies
HMS Ramillies (1785)
HMS Ramillies was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 12 July 1785 at Rotherhithe.In 1801, she was part of Admiral Sir Hyde Parker's reserve squadron at the Battle of Copenhagen, and so did not take an active part in the battle.In August 1812, Sir Thomas Masterman...
. In 1793 Ramillies became his father's ship and under Captain Harvey, young Thomas participated in the battle of 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 his ship rescued the embattled 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....
commanded by his uncle 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...
. John Harvey died later of his wounds, but Thomas benefited from the general promotion which followed the action and became a 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...
.
Harvey moved from Ramillies to 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...
when his father raised his flag in her and both were aboard during the Battle of Groix
Battle of Groix
The Second Battle of Groix was a naval engagement that took place on 23 June 1795 during the French Revolutionary War off the west coast of France....
where Prince of Wales was extensively engaged and three French ships of the line were taken. Remaining with his father during 1795 and the first half of 1796, Harvey benefited from family contacts to receive promotion 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...
in July 1796 and take command of the HMS Pelican, his first independent command aged just 21. In Pelican Harvey was present when his father captured Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
in 1797 and as a result was awarded with promotion to post-captain
Post-Captain
Post-captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy.The term served to distinguish those who were captains by rank from:...
at the extremely young age of 22.
Napoleonic Wars
Following promotion, Harvey was given command of the frigates HMS LapwingHMS Lapwing (1785)
HMS Lapwing was a 28-gun Enterprise-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. The Lapwing was first commissioned in October 1790 under the command of Captain Paget Bayley.- References :...
and HMS Unité for brief spells and in 1800 was recalled to England to serve with the force being prepared in the Thames under Horatio Nelson, who had been a shipmate of his father in the 1780s. Following the dispersal and then regrowth of the Navy surrounding the Peace of Amiens in 1801, Harvey was favoured with command of ship of the line HMS Standard
HMS Standard (1782)
HMS Standard was a 64-gun Royal Navy third-rate ship of the line, launched on 8 October 1782 at Deptford. She was the last of the 15 Intrepid class vessels, which were built to a design by John Williams.-Early career:...
, which was attached to Cuthbert Collingwood's Mediterranean fleet. It was whilst serving with this force in 1807 that Harvey was present at the attempt by Admiral John Thomas Duckworth
John Thomas Duckworth
Admiral Sir John Thomas Duckworth, 1st Baronet, GCB was a British naval officer, serving during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, as the Governor of Newfoundland during the War of 1812, and a member of the British House of Commons during his...
to force the Dardanelles
Dardanelles Operation
The Dardanelles Operation was the Royal Navy's unsuccessful attempt to impose British demands on the Ottoman Empire as part of the Anglo-Turkish War ....
and drive the Turkish Empire out of the war.
The operation was a failure, after Turkish shore batteries opened a murderous fire on the British squadron attempting to force passage on the 19 February 1807. Harvey had been instrumental in burning a Turkish squadron moored at the entrance to the Dardanelles, but during the return from Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
a round shot
Round shot
Round shot is a solid projectile without explosive charge, fired from a cannon. As the name implies, round shot is spherical; its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the gun it is fired from.Round shot was made in early times from dressed stone, but by the 17th century, from iron...
more than two feet in diameter crashed through Standard's lower deck, detonating a ready magazine of gun charges and killing several men before the resulting fire could be brought under control. Across the squadron as a whole, over a hundred men were killed and the operation made no effect on the diplomatic situation. In 1808 Harvey returned to England and commanded the ships of the line HMS Majestic
HMS Majestic (1785)
HMS Majestic was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line launched on 11 December 1785 at Deptford. She fought at the Battle of the Nile, where she engaged the French ships Tonnant and Heureux, helping to force their surrenders...
in the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
and HMS Sceptre
HMS Sceptre (1802)
HMS Sceptre was a 74-gun third rate of the Royal Navy, built by Dudman of Deptford after a design by Sir William Rule, and launched in December 1802 at Deptford. She served in the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 before being broken up in 1821....
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...
. He did not participate in any significant actions during the remainder of the war and at the reformation of the Order of the Bath
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...
in 1815, Harvey was made a Companion.
Peacetime service
Post-war, Harvey spent long periods on half-pay ashore with his wife Sarah (daughter of his uncle John Harvey) and eight children. Two of his three sons, Thomas Harvey and Henry Harvey later became admirals themselves and led distinguished careers, whilst his third son William Harvey joined the church. From 1819 to 1821 Harvey was given the plum role of commander of the SheernessSheerness
Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
guardship HMS Northumberland
HMS Northumberland (1798)
HMS Northumberland was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, built at the yards of Barnard, Deptford and launched on 2 February 1798....
until in 1821 he was promoted to rear-admiral, necessitating a temporary retirement from service until a suitable position opened up.
It was not until 17 years later, in 1839, that Harvey's seniority (now a Vice-Admiral and Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath), allowed him to become Commander-in-Chief of the North America and West Indies Station, a position which both his father and his cousin John Harvey
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...
had previously held. The command was exercised from Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, and it was there, at Admiralty House
Admiralty House
Buildings called Admiralty House include:*Admiralty House, Halifax, former Admiral's Residence now the Maritime Command Museum* Admiralty House, Mount Pearl, aka Admiralty House Museum & Archives Buildings called Admiralty House include:*Admiralty House, Halifax, former Admiral's Residence now the...
that he died, still serving, in May 1841. He was buried on the island.