Brenton was given a brief respite from his position off Toulon in March 1808 when "Spartan" was ordered to cruise between Sardinia and Cape Bon. Soon after arriving, Brenton encountered a powerful French squadron of ten ships of the line and four frigates and gave pursuit to determine their destination before losing sight of them during the night four days later. His efforts were not entirely in vain, however, as his determination to shadow the squadron despite considerable risk of capture earned praise from his former critic, Collingwood. Later that year, Brenton was ordered to make sail for the Gulf of Roses where he joined Lord Cochrane's frigate HMS "Imperieuse" on 7 September. Over the following week they launched successful amphibious operations against the French, destroying a string of signal posts, telegraphs and shore batteries along the coast and capturing six merchant vessels. At the end of 1808, Collingwood removed "Spartan" from her station off Toulon and in February 1809 '"Spartan" was dispatched on a cruise in the eastern Mediterranean, capturing an enemy merchant vessel off the Libyan coast. Upon returning to Malta in April Brenton was given command of a squadron of frigates in the Adriatic and embarked on a highly active period over the following year.