Montagu briefly served in the Mediterranean Fleet as a midshipman aboard the dispatch boat under the command of A. C. Hobart. He was personally selected to serve aboard the frigate by Henry Keppel, with the ship departing from Portsmouth for China Station in October 1856; "Raleigh's" 28-day voyage to the Cape of Good Hope was considered to be a record for a sailing ship. After brief stops at Penang and Singapore, "Raleigh" proceeded with haste to Hong Kong with war imminent with China. After several months at sea, "Raleigh" came to within thirty miles of Hong Kong, when on 14 April 1857 the ship struck uncharted rocks. Despite the efforts of the ships crew to pump the water out of the ship for long enough to reach Hong Kong, the "Raleigh" ended up beaching on mud banks, with the ships crew evacuating to a nearby island. With assistance from the French Navy, the crew returned to Hong Kong, with Montagu returning aboard .