Admiral Sir Henry Harvey KB (Bef. 4 Aug 1737 – 28 December 1810) 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 . 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. Harvey's first ship, aged only eight, was the sixth-rate aged eleven in 1754, Harvey was transferred to . It is not clear how much time Harvey actually spent aboard these ships, as it was common practice at the time for the children of naval families to be entered on a ship's books to gain experience pending their actual entry into the service, an illegal practice known as "false muster".
By 1757, and aged 15, Harvey was certainly at sea, making junior lieutenant aboard the fourth-rate in the English Channel, the West Indies and along the North American coast during the Seven Years' War. A capable and well supported officer, Harvey was soon promoted to first lieutenant aboard the frigate , which was wrecked at Cape François, Cuba in 1762, resulting in Harvey spending the next year as a prisoner of war. During the voyage home on parole aboard , Harvey made close friends with Lieutenant Constantine Phipps, who later became a Lord of the Admiralty.
Polar exploration
The end of the war that same year gave Harvey the opportunity to return to the sea as first lieutenant of the frigate off North America. In 1764 he was given his first independent command with the schooner HMS Magdalen, employed in anti-smuggling operations at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. His success in the role was such that in 1768 Harvey was given the revenue cutter HMS Swift on similar duties in the English Channel, a role he continued in until 1771 when he was placed in reserve on half-pay. In 1773 an opportunity for adventurous service arrived with the offer of a position on Phipps's ship in which Harvey's friend was planning to explore the North Pole. The expedition also included a young Horatio Nelson. Although the journey did not reach the Pole, it did explore the seas north of Svalbard and scientifically discover the polar bear amongst other achievements.
American Revolutionary War
With a promotion resulting from the expedition enabling further advancement, Harvey commanded the sloop at the Siege of Quebec in the American Revolutionary War of 1776. His knowledge of the St. Lawrence River and Canadian coastline gave him an advantage in this work and as a result he was raised in 1777 to command the frigate on convoy duty. December 1778 saw a transfer to the 32-gun frigate and in the following year Harvey was engaged in the relief of besieged Jersey and later unsuccessful efforts to intercept the raiding squadron of John Paul Jones. During 1779, Convert was employed escorting a convoy to Quebec and in December was attached to Sir George Rodney's fleet in the West Indies. Through 1780 and 1781, Convert served as a fleet scout and was present during the Battle of the Saintes in 1782, although the ship was too small to serve in the battleline. Shortly after the battle, Harvey was detached from the fleet for convoy duties back to England.