File:Portrait of Captain John Harvey (1740-1794) (by Richard Livesay).jpg

English: Richard Livesay (Unknown 1750 - 1826 Southsea)

Portrait of Captain John Harvey (1740-1794), half-length

signed and dated middle right: R. Livesay 1796

inscribed on the monument: Sacred to the Memory of John Harvey Esq / late Captain of H.M.S Brunswick who died of the wounds / he received in the Act / of the glorious 1st of June / 1794 / [...] the British & / French Fleets

oil on canvas

canvas: 15⅛ by 12½ in.; 38.4 by 31.7 cm.

This portrait commemorates Captain John Harvey (1740-1794), an officer of the British Royal Navy in the 18th century. Celebrated for his success in both the American War of Independence and French Revolutionary Wars, he cultivated the respect and notoriety of many over the course of his career.

His final battle, known as the Glorious First of June (1 June 1794), was the first and largest naval battle between Great Britain and the first French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars. The purpose of this engagement was an attempt to cut off the grain supply between the United States and France. Harvey, captain of a new seventy-four gun ship, the HMS Brunswick, followed the unorthodox orders of Admiral Lord Howe to use his ship to cut the French line. This tactic was considered risky because it placed British ships into close combat with the French too early into the battle. Unlike other British captains, Harvey committed to the maneuver, which ultimately led to bodily injuries that would cause his untimely death a few weeks after the battle. Because of his heroism against the French, a memorial was raised in his honor in Westminster Abbey.