Peyton went on to command the fifth-rate HMS "Minerva" in 1762, the third-rate HMS "Belleisle" in 1766 and the third-rate HMS "Cumberland" in 1777. In HMS "Cumberland" he saw action at the Battle of Ushant in July 1778 and at the first Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1780, during the Anglo-French War. He became commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1789 and commander-in-chief of the Downs in 1794.