[1] In 1746, he was appointed a commodore in succession of Curtis Barnett and was commanding a squadron of seven ships of the line off Bengal.
The French commander Mahé de la Bourdonnais had been sent to the East Indies in response to attacks by Peyton's predecessor.
Peyton sighted Bourdonnais and his French fleet off Negapatnam on 25 June 1746 and attacked.
By withdrawing, Peyton left Bourdonnais unopposed on the Coromandel Coast where he went on to attack Madras.
[2][3] Peyton, was censured by the East India Company and arrested by his successor, Thomas Griffin.