On 14 February 1797, "Barfleur" was part of Jervis's fleet that intercepted a larger Spanish fleet at the Battle of Cape St Vincent off the southern coast of Portugal. The British achieved a morale boosting victory that enabled them to return to the Mediterranean and confine the Spanish fleet to Cadiz until the end of the war. Jervis held Brenton in high regard and in August 1797 he transferred him to his flagship HMS "Ville de Paris". The British fleet commenced a close blockade of Cadiz and in Spring 1798 Brenton's actions while commanding a detachment of boats under attack from Spanish gunboats earned enthusiastic praise from Jervis. As a consequence he was made commander of HMS "Speedy" in September 1798, a sloop that he had previously served in and remembered with fondness.