He also served in the Royal Navy. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in 1777, and his first command was the cutter in 1779. He sailed her to Saint Lucia, where she was wrecked in March 1780, though without loss of life. He was made post-captain on 23 May 1780. Thereafter he was captain of a number of frigates. He participated in the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781. He was also captain of on 21 October 1794 when she captured the French frigate "Révolutionnaire ". He was made a Rear-Admiral in 1790.