On 19 May 1759 he became a Rear Admiral, and was shortly after given command of a small squadron intended to destroy a large number of flat-bottomed boats and stores which were being collected at Havre for an invasion of the British Isles.
On 19 May 1759 he became a Rear Admiral and shortly afterwards he was given command of a small squadron. The admiralty had received intelligence that the French had gathered at Le Harvre at the mouth of the River Seine, a large number of flat-bottomed boats and stores which were being collected there for an invasion of the British Isles.