Built during the American War of Independence she spent the last three years of the war off the American coast, and saw action at the Battle of Cape Henry and at the Battle of the Chesapeake. The years of peace were spent either in the Caribbean or off Nova Scotia, before the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars saw her commissioned for service in the Leeward Islands and off the British coast. It was while serving in British waters that she became caught up in the mutiny at the Nore. As one of only two two-decker ships to remain in action during the mutiny she had to maintain the Dutch blockade by creating the illusion of being part of a larger fleet, which she managed successfully. "Adamant" then went on to fight at the Battle of Camperdown, after which she moved to the English Channel, and then the Indian Ocean via the Cape of Good Hope. Here she took part in the destruction of the French commerce raider "Preneuse", and in her later years captured a number of privateers. She became a receiving ship and flagship of a port admiral during the last years of the Napoleonic Wars, until being broken up in June 1814.