In March 1744 he followed Grenville into on the home station, and on 2 November 1745 was promoted to commander of the fireship . On 22 April 1746 he was appointed as post-captain into the , apparently for rank only, and in April 1747 was appointed to command of the in the West Indies. In 1755, he was appointed captain of the 60-gun , one of the ships put into commission in anticipation of the war with France. In June 1758 he commanded "York" at the reduction of Louisbourg, and in September 1759 he commanded the 84-gun "Royal William" in the fleet of Sir Charles Saunders at the capture of Quebec. He was employed in "Royal William" for the remainder of the war in the Channel; and in May 1760, chased the "Diadem", a French third rate of seventy-four guns, bound for Martinique with stores and specie for the payment of the soldiery, into the Groyne.