He received his first independent commands while serving in the East Indies in the inter-war years, and after spending time as a flag captain during the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars, moved on to command a number of frigates. Halsted went on to achieve particular success aboard , and was rewarded with command of a squadron. Ships under his overall command captured two Dutch ships and destroyed several others in the North Sea in 1796, and after a successful period against privateers off Ireland, he moved to the Mediterranean. Here he helped to capture or destroy several French frigates, and by 1805 had command of a ship of the line. He took part in the defeat of a French squadron that had escaped Trafalgar at the Battle of Cape Ortegal, before serving as a captain of the fleet to Vice-Admiral Sir Charles Cotton. Halsted was soon advanced to flag rank himself, and served as commander in chief in the West Indies while a vice-admiral. After a long and distinguished career, Lawrence Halsted died in 1841 with the rank of admiral of the blue.