Elbert fought in the Revolutionary War, commanding the victorious American colonial forces in a naval battle near St. Simons Island, Georgia on April 19, 1778. He was wounded and captured at the Battle of Brier Creek the following year, though he regained his freedom in a prisoner exchange. He rose to the rank of major general in the Georgia militia and colonel in the Continental Army. He was brevetted a brigadier general after the end of the war. Samuel Elbert was an original member of the Society of the Cincinnati of the State of Georgia.