American War of Independence
Left without a ship after the peace in 1763, Elliot did not return to active service until 1767, when he was given command of the 60-gun HMS Firme, one of the Plymouth guardships. He also briefly became Member of Parliament for Cockermouth that year. He was moved to the newly-built HMS Portland on 26 September 1770, but left her the following year and received no further commissions until 1777, when he took command of the 64-gun HMS Trident during the American War of Independence. He had been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in January 1776, during his time ashore. He was promoted to commodore on 11 April 1778, and shortly afterwards took the Earl of Carlisle, George Johnstone and William Eden to North America to negotiate with the colonists as the Carlisle Peace Commission. After arriving at Delaware Elliot joined Richard Howe's command and took part in the relief of Rhode Island. He left the Trident towards the end of 1778 and returned to England and a brief spell of unemployment until his appointment to command the 74-gun HMS Edgar in May 1779. It was about this time that he was made a Colonel of Marines, a post he held until 1787.
Elliot went out with Admiral Sir George Rodney's fleet to relieve Gibraltar in 1780 and took part in the defeat of the Spanish fleet under Juan de Lángara at the Battle of Cape St Vincent on 16 January 1780. Edgar played a large part in the fighting, suffering casualties of six killed and 20 wounded, the third highest casualty figures of the British ships. Having temporarily relieved Gibraltar, Rodney took his fleet to the West Indies, but left Elliot and Edgar at Gibraltar to support the garrison there. Elliot soon found that there was little assistance that he could render, and having a ship as large as Edgar on station there made her a target for Spanish gunboats. Rodney was rebuked for leaving him there, as it was against his orders, and necessitated sending a frigate to order his return. Elliot consequently returned to England.
Elliot spent most of the remaining years of the war commanding Edgar in the English Channel. In November 1781, the Admiralty had received intelligence that a large convoy was preparing to sail from Brest under Admiral de Guichen. It was a convoy of transports carrying naval supplies for the West Indies and the French fleet in the East Indies. Edgar was part of Admiral Richard Kempenfelt's squadron of 18 ships, commanded from HMS Victory, which was ordered to intercept the convoy. Kempenfelt did so in the afternoon of 12 December in the Bay of Biscay, approximately 150 miles (241.4 km) south-west of Ushant. With the French naval escort to leeward of the convoy, Kempenfelt attacked immediately, capturing 15 of the transports before nightfall. The rest of the convoy scattered, most returning to During the engagement, known as the Battle of Ushant, Edgar fought a running battle with the 84-gun Triomphant. Elliot was later praised by Kempenfelt for his actions during the battle. Elliot was moved into HMS Romney in June 1782, and there were plans to send him to the West Indies in command of a squadron of five ships of the line and a frigate, but the end of the war prevented this.
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