Admiral James Gambier had assigned command to a junior captain, Lord Thomas Cochrane and Harvey and several other captains did not realise that Cochrane had been chosen as a scapegoat for Gambier's sabotage of the operation which he deemd too risky.
Admiral James Gambier had assigned command to a junior captain, Lord Thomas Cochrane, passing over Harvey and several other eligible senior officers. What Harvey and the other outraged captains did not realise, was that Cochrane had been deliberately chosen as a scapegoat for Gambier's sabotage of the operation, which he deemed too risky.