Royal Naval Biography/Harvey, John

by John Marshall

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JOHN HARVEY, Esq
Rear-Admiral of the Red.

This officer is the second son of the late gallant Captain John Harvey, R.N. by Judith, daughter of Henry Wise, of Sandwich, co. Kent, Esq^[1]. In 1794 we find him commanding l’Actif sloop, which vessel foundered off Bermuda, on the 26th Nov., in the same year. He was promoted to the rank of Post-Captain, Dec. 16th following; and some time after appointed to the Prince of Wales a second rate, bearing the flag of his uncle, the late Sir Henry Harvey, K.B.^[2], with whom he proceeded to the West Indies, and served at the conquest of the island of Trinidad^[3]. After this event, which took place in the month of Feb. 1797, he was sent to England with despatches; and subsequently obtained the command of the Southampton, of 32 guns, in which frigate he was again ordered to the Leeward island station, where he continued during the remainder of the war, and assisted at the reduction of the Virgin islands, by Sir John T. Duckworth, in 1801.

His next appointment appears to have been in the summer of 1804, to the Agamemnon, of 64 guns, which ship formed part of Sir Robert Calder’s fleet in the action with the combined squadrons of France and Spain, July 22, 1805^[4], and on that occasion had several men wounded, besides being much cut up in her spars and rigging. About the month of September in the same year, Captain Harvey removed into the Canada, a 74-gun ship. He subsequently commanded the Leviathan of the same class in the Mediterranean; and in Aug., 1811, was appointed to the Royal Sovereign a first rate, in which he continued till the general promotion, Aug. 12, 1812, when he obtained the command of a royal yacht. His advancement to the rank of Rear-Admiral took place Dec. 4, 1813; and in 1815, he hoisted his flag on board the Antelope, of 50 guns, as Commander-in-Chief at the Leeward islands, where he remained during the customary period of three years.

Residence.– Walmer, Kent.

addendum.

SIR JOHN HARVEY, K.C.B.
Vice-Admiral of the Red.
(Vol. I. Part II. p. 613.)

Is the second son of the late Captain John Harvey (who commanded the Brunswick 74, and was mortally wounded on the glorious 1st of June 1794^[5]), by Judith, daughter of Henry Wise, of Sandwich, co. Kent, Esq.

We first find this officer commanding l’Actif sloop, which vessel foundered off Bermuda, Nov. 26th, 1794. He obtained post rank on the 16th Dec. in the same year; and was subsequently appointed to the Prince of Wales 98, flag-ship of his uncle, the late Sir Henry Harvey, K.B.^[6], under whom he served at the reduction of Trinidad, in Feb. 1797^[7]. During the latter part of the French revolutionary war, he commanded the Southampton and Amphitrite frigates, on the Leeward Islands station. In Mar. 1801, he assisted at the reduction of the Virgin Islands, by the military and naval forces under Lieutenant-General Trigge and Rear-Admiral Duckworth^[8].

Captain Harvey’s next appointment was to the Agamemnon 64, which ship he commissioned at Chatham in Aug. 1804.

On the 1st Nov. following. Captain Harvey sailed from St. Helens, in company with a squadron, under Sir John Orde. On the 18th of the same month, being then off Cadiz, he was ordered to chase and detain a Spanish frigate, which surrendered without opposition. Although bound to the colonies, with despatches announcing the commencement of hostilities between England and Spain, Sir John Orde directed Captain Harvey to escort this ship back to her own port. Her consort, the Amphitrite, was soon afterwards intercepted by Sir Richard J. Strachan, who, being unchecked by the presence of a superior officer, conducted her to Gibraltar, where she was condemned as a prize, and added to the British navy. On the 27th, the Niger frigate joined company, with orders to detain all Spanish shipping; and in the course of the same day, a large dismasted merchantman, from Vera Cruz, was taken possession of by Sir John’s flag-ship, the Swiftsure 74. On the 30th, Captain Harvey captured the brig Pomone, from Havannah, laden with sugar and twenty chests of silver. On the 9th Dec. he was sent to cruize off Cape St. Vincent, where, in the course of that month, he had the good fortune to intercept three ships with cargoes of cochineal, coffee, indigo, sugar, &c., and having on board 967,461 dollars.

The perilous situation of the Agamemnon, at Gibraltar, during a most destructive storm, Jan. 31st, 1805, we have recently noticed^[9]. She rejoined Sir John Orde on the 3d Feb., and was at anchor off St. Lucar, with main-yard unrigged, hold unstowed, and employed in receiving provisions and stores from transports, when a French squadron from Toulon, under Mons. Villeneuve, hove in sight, and induced the British admiral to retire from his station before Cadiz. The expeditious manner in which she was got ready for action on that occasion, drew forth the thanks of Sir John Orde, with whom she returned to England. We next find her assisting at the capture of two Spanish line-of-battle ships, by the fleet under Sir Robert Calder, July 22d, 1805^[10], on which occasion, being stationed in the van, she was much cut up in her spars and rigging, and had several men wounded. On the 22d Aug. following, she was present at an attack made by the veteran Cornwallis upon the rear of the Brest fleet, then manoeuvring in Bertheaume Bay^[11].

In Sept. 1805, Captain Harvey was appointed to the Canada 74, fitting out for the Leeward Islands station, which ship he paid off at Chatham in Jan. 1808. His subsequent appointments were, – in June 1809, to the Leviathan 74, then off Cadiz; – October 1810, to the Royal Sovereign 110, employed in the blockade of Toulon; and Aug. 12th, 1812, to one of the royal yachts. The Leviathan assisted in driving three French line-of-battle ships and a frigate on shore, near the mouth of the Rhone, Oct. 25th, 1809^[12]; and had her mainmast shivered by lightning in the summer of 1810. The Royal Sovereign was ordered home from the Mediterranean in Nov. 1811.

This officer obtained the rank of rear-admiral in Dec. 1813. He was appointed commander-in-chief at the Leeward Islands in Aug. 1815; advanced to the rank of vice-admiral in May 1825; and nominated a Knight Commander of the Most Honorable Military Order of the Bath, in June 1833.

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1. Captain Harvey commanded the Brunswick, of 74 guns, on the memorable 1st of June, 1794. He was wounded early in the action, by a musket-ball, which tore away part of his right hand; but this he carefully concealed, and bound the wound up with his handkerchief. Some time after this he received a violent contusion in the loins, which laid him almost lifeless on the deck; from this severe blow he however rallied his strength of mind, and continued at his post, directing and conducting the action, until a double-headed shot splitting, struck his right arm near the elbow, and shattered it to pieces. Growing faint through loss of blood, he was now compelled to retire; but when assistance was offered to conduct him below, he nobly refused it,– “I will not have a single man leave his quarters on my account! my legs still remain to bear me down into the cockpit.” In this wounded and shattered state he cast a languid yet affectionate look towards his brave crew – “Persevere, my brave lads, in your duty! continue the action with spirit, for the honor of our King and Country; and remember my last words – The colours of the Brunswick shall never be struck!” About sun-set it was found necessary to amputate his arm above the elbow; and on the dav after the Brunswick’s arrival at Spithead, he was conveyed on shore at Portsmouth, where, after bearing the most excruciating pain with christian resignation, he was released from this world, and lost to his country, on the 30th June.

   The House of Commons, to perpetuate the memory of this heroic man, unanimously voted a monument to be erected in Westminster Abbey; had he survived, his name would have been included in the flag-promotion which took place on the 4th of the following month. It is a singular coincidence of events, that Captain Harvey, and Captain Hutt, of the Queen, were companions in a post-chaise from London, on joining their respective ships, previous to their last cruize; they both lost a limb in the action; died on the same day; and are both recorded on the same monument, raised by a grateful country to their memory.

2. See Rear-Admiral Thomas Harvey.
3. See p. 112.
4. See p. 40.
5. See Vol. I. Part II. note at p. 613 et seq.
6. See id. p. 797.
7. See Vol. I. Part I. p. 112.
8. See Vol. I. Part II. note † at p. 798 et seq.
9. See p. 273 et seq.
10. See Vol. I. Part I. p. 405.
11. See Suppl. Part IV. p. 411, et seq.
12. See Vol. I. Part I. p. 282.