Eliab Harvey Admiral Sir Eliab Harvey , GCB ( 5 December 1758 – 20 February 1830 ) was an eccentric and hot - tempered officer of the Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars who was as distinguished for his gambling and dueling as for his military record . Although Harvey was a significant naval figure for over twenty years , his martial reputation was largely based on his experiences at the Battle of Trafalgar , when he took his ship HMS " Temeraire " into the thick of the action . Harvey used " Temeraire " to force the surrender of two French ships of the line and later created his family motto from the names of his opponents in the engagement ; " Redoutable et Fougueux " . In his civilian life , Harvey pursued political interests and spent three spells as a Member of Parliament for Maldon and later Essex . During this period he was also knight ed . However , Harvey was not a peaceable man and his life both in and out of the Navy was frequently punctuated by disputes with fellow officers and politicians . One such dispute , a consequence of the Battle of Basque Roads , eventually cost Harvey his career ; a bitter exchange with Lord Gambier forcing Harvey into early retirement in 1809 . Although reinstated a year later , Harvey was never again employed in an official capacity and further promotions were only bestowed as a matter of seniority . Harvey was also notable in his time for his extravagant lifestyle . The deaths of his father and elder brother while he was still a young man provided Harvey with a considerable fortune , much of which he squandered gambling in London . Harvey ' s exploits at the gaming tables became legendary , one story claiming that he once bet £100 , 000 on a single game of chance and lost , only to win most of it back on the following throw . Despite his dissolute lifestyle , Harvey was married and had numerous children ; he was survived by six daughters and had three sons who predeceased him . Early life . Eliab Harvey was born in Chigwell , Essex to William and Emma Harvey . His father William Harvey was a Member of Parliament for Essex , but died when Harvey was only five years old , in 1763 . Until 1768 , Harvey was raised at the family estate of Rolls Park in Chigwell , which had passed to his elder brother William on the death of their father . Harvey then attended Westminster School for two years before moving to Harrow School in 1770 . At the age of thirteen in 1771 , Harvey was entered onto the books of the naval schooner HMS " Mary " , although he did not actually serve aboard the ship . Utilising a standard legal fiction of the time , Harvey ' s name was entered on the ship ' s books without his actual presence , a ruse that would provide him with sufficient seniority to gain rapid promotion when he did enter the Navy . In his summer holidays from school , Harvey served at sea , joining HMS " Orpheus " in 1773 . Entering the Navy fully in May 1774 , Harvey became a midshipman aboard the sloop HMS " Lynx " and spent the next two years in the West Indies . Briefly returning to Britain at the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War , Harvey returned to the eastern seaboard of North America late in 1776 aboard HMS " Mermaid " , before transferring to the flagship of the North America Station HMS " Eagle " . From there Harvey joined HMS " Liverpool " on temporary assignment , only to be wrecked on Long Island aboard the frigate in 1778 . Harvey rejoined " Eagle " after the wreck and returned to Britain in her . He was promoted to lieutenant on 25 February 1779 . Following his promotion , Harvey took a leave of absence from the Navy which would last three years . He stood for parliament in the seat of Maldon in Essex , which he won in 1780 and represented for the next four years . In 1781 Harvey briefly commanded HMS " Dolphin " , but took leave once again four months later . In 1782 Harvey again returned to the Navy just as peace was agreed and was promoted to commander on 21 March 1782 , briefly taking over the sloop HMS " Otter " before rapidly making the jump to Post Captain less than a year later , on 20 January 1783 . Civilian life . With the peace of 1783 , Harvey again took leave from the Navy , seeing out his parliamentary term and continuing his notorious lifestyle of gambling and debauchery . The young death of Harvey ' s elder brother William Harvey , MP in April 1779 had provided Harvey with a substantial fortune , which he immediately began squandering in epic nights at London ' s fashionable drinking and gambling establishments . Harvey gained a reputation among this crowd for playing exceptionally high stakes ; one often repeated story concerns his loss , on his 21st birthday in 1779 , of over £100 , 000 in a single game of hazard to a Mr O ' Byrne . O ' Byrne , recognising that such a sum would bankrupt his opponent , refused to take more than £10 , 000 , insisting that they roll the dice again to determine the fate of the remaining £90 , 000 . Harvey won and kept his fortune , but reportedly still failed to pay the £10 , 000 . Despite this riotous lifestyle , Harvey married Lady Louisa Nugent in 1784 . Louisa was a daughter of Robert Nugent , 1st Earl Nugent and co - heir to his substantial wealth . The couple had nine children , eight of whom survived infancy and six of whom , all daughters , outlived their father . Harvey ' s eldest son was killed in action serving in the British Army under the Marquess of Wellington at the Siege of Burgos in 1812 . Harvey remained in semi - retirement until 1790 , dividing his time between London and Rolls Park . Return to service . In 1790 , Harvey was called back to the Navy during the Spanish armament and commanded the frigate HMS " Hussar " for six months , until the Navy returned to its peacetime complement . Three years later , Harvey was once again recalled to the Navy with the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars . Harvey would remain in service for the next 16 years , only briefly taking leave in 1802 during the Peace of Amiens . In 1793 , Harvey became captain of the frigate HMS " Santa Margarita " in the West Indies . There he participated in the successful campaigns against the French colonies of Guadeloupe and Martinique under Admiral John Jervis . In May 1794 Harvey returned to Britain and served in the squadron under Sir John Borlase Warren which raided the French coast with great success in 1794 and 1795 . In August 1795 , Harvey took command of the ship of the line HMS " Valiant " , initially in the Channel Fleet and later in the West Indies under Sir Hyde Parker . In 1797 Harvey returned to Britain due to ill - health , and was given command of the Essex sea fencibles during the next year . In 1800 Harvey returned to sea in command of HMS " Triumph " , which he retained until the Peace of Amiens . During the peace he again dabbled in politics , becoming MP for Essex in 1802 . Even after returning to the Navy in 1803 as captain of the second rate HMS " Temeraire " , Harvey remained in parliament , serving until 1812 . Trafalgar . With the resumption of the war against France , " Temeraire " was attached to the Channel Fleet and blockaded ports in eastern France until 1805 , when Harvey was sent to join Horatio Nelson ' s blockade off Cadiz . When the Battle of Trafalgar was joined on 21 October , Harvey ' s " Temeraire " was the second ship in Nelson ' s division and was a faster and more agile ship than HMS " Victory " , Nelson ' s flagship . As a result , " Temeraire " began to pull ahead of " Victory " as the division closed on the Franco - Spanish fleet and Harvey was consequently reprimanded by Nelson , who hailed " Temeraire " : " I will thank you Captain Harvey , to keep your proper station which is astern of the " Victory " " . During the combat that followed , Harvey was heavily engaged with the enemy , passing behind " Bucentaure " and astern of " Redoutable " . The broadside fired into " Redoutable " reduced the French ship to a wreck and forced its surrender soon afterwards when it became tangled with " Victory " and " Temeraire " . The three ships then drifted into the following French " Fougueux " , British fire disabling her and giving cover to a boarding party led by " Temeraire " s first - lieutenant , Thomas Fortescue Kennedy , which forced the surrender of " Fougueux " ' s crew . In later years Harvey would use this incident for his personal motto " Redoutable et Fougueux " . Once the fleet had returned to port , controversy erupted concerning Harvey ' s role in the battle . Although his bravery and skill were not questioned , his prominence in the dispatch sent home by Cuthbert Collingwood was . In the dispatch , Harvey was singled out over the other captains for his bravery , Collingwood writing : " I have not words in which I can sufficiently express my admiration of it " . As a result of this special mention , Harvey was promoted to rear - admiral on 9 November 1805 , and given the honour of being one of Nelson ' s pallbearers at the admiral ' s funeral despite their short acquaintance . Harvey ' s new motto and his penchant for " bragging " further alienated him from his fellow officers . Retirement . Returning to naval service some months after the action , Harvey was given the 80 - gun HMS " Tonnant " as his first flagship , in which he remained until 1809 . Serving under Lord Gambier in the Channel Fleet , Harvey was outraged not to be given command of the British ships in action at the Battle of Basque Roads . Harvey expressed his disgust that command had been given to the more junior Lord Cochrane in no uncertain terms to Gambier , and was dismissed from the admiral ' s council as a result . When the operation was initially successful , Gambier refused to support Cochrane and as a result an opportunity to annihilate the French Atlantic Fleet was lost . The ensuing dispute lasted years and involved a court martial that eventually acquitted Gambier , and only ended with Cochrane ' s dismissal from the service five years later . Harvey was not embroiled in the political arguments surrounding the action , as he had resigned his commission on 23 May 1809 , before the attack went ahead , in protest at Cochrane ' s preferment . Returning to the Navy a year later on 21 March 1810 , Harvey was never again called to active service , Gambier blocking his efforts to obtain gainful employment . Despite his failure to return to the sea , Harvey ' s seniority brought more promotions ; he made vice - admiral in 1810 and finally became a full admiral in 1819 . He was also made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1815 when the order was reformed , becoming a Knight Grand Cross in 1825 . Harvey ' s retirement included a further period in politics , returning to his seat as MP for Essex between 1820 and 1830 . Harvey died in 1830 at his family estate of Rolls Park and was buried in the Harvey family crypt at St Andrews Church at Hempstead in Essex , which contains the remains of over 50 family members , including his ancestor ' s brother , Dr . William Harvey . His coffin is still in the crypt , and can be viewed on request . On the wall of church is a hatchment in his honour originally placed shortly after his death and restored in 1958 after it was destroyed in the partial collapse of the church in 1884 . A large wall memorial to him is also visible in the church , which also commemorates his youngest son William , who died in 1823 aged 22 . The crest of the Harvey Grammar School of Folkestone bears Harvey ' s motto as well as his ship ' s name ' Temeraire ' . The crest was designed by Eliab Harvey .