Shortly afterwards he was removed to HMS "Minerva" in which he accompanied Admiral George Darby, when the latter relieved Gibraltar in April, 1781. After the commissioning of HMS "Ganges" in 1782 he became her first captain. He accompanied Admiral Howe (with whom he had already served in American waters) to Gibraltar in September, 1782. He was lightly wounded by a splinter in the arm during the skirmish that is known as the Battle of Cape Spartel on 20 October 1782. Though the wound was far from serious, infection set in and Fielding died of gangrene on 11 January of the following year.