Each was armed with an 18-pounder gun, and received a crew of 21 men drawn from Royal Navy vessels stationed at Gibraltar.

In December 1784 there was a distribution of £30,000 in bounty money for the batteries and the proceeds of the sale of ships stores, including those of San Miguel.

[6] On 25 August 1800, the 74-gun Impétueux, Brilliant, 16-gun ship-sloop Cynthia and the 14-gun hired cutter St Vincent silenced a battery that was armed with eight 24-pounders.

At the end of the month, Brilliant was in a detachment under Samuel Hood that captured a French privateer, Gueppe, in a cutting-out expedition.

[8] Gueppe, a flush-deck ship of 300 tons and carrying 18 guns, was initially in the harbour at Vigo but, when the British force entered the bay on 29 August, was moved to near the Narrows of Redondela where she anchored below a shore battery.

She was a packet of 14 guns, bound for L'Orient from Guadeloupe and carrying a cargo of cocoa, coffee, indigo and cotton.

[10] On 25 June 1805, Loire had been chasing a French frigate privateer for some twelve hours when Melampus and Brilliant came up and cut-off the quarry, forcing her to surrender.

[12][13] On 20 October 1808 Brilliant was in company with Pheasant and the hired armed lugger Sandwich, when they discovered the Revenue cutter Active chasing a French privateer.