On 3 May 1743 he was made commander, and appointed to the sloop Merlin in the West Indies, and for about four years was repeatedly engaged with French and Spanish cruisers and privateers, several of which he captured and brought in.

In this ship he was present at the unsuccessful attempt on Santiago, and had a distinguished share in the battle of Havana on 1 October 1748, when the one prize of victory, Conquistador, struck to Strafford.

In 1750 Brodie was compelled to memorialise the admiralty, representing himself as incapacitated from further service, and praying for some mark of the royal favour.

On 5 March 1787 Brodie's claims were brought up in the House of Commons, and he was represented as a much-injured man, deprived of the promotion to which he was justly entitled.

The case, however, led to a modification of the rule, and from that time captains who were not eligible for promotion when their turn arrived were distinctly placed on a superannuated list.