Endymion was recommissioned as an en flute troopship in 1787, conveying various regiments of foot to the West Indies, Ireland, and North America.

Roebuck was designed as such to provide the extra firepower a ship of two decks could bring to warfare but with a much lower draught and smaller profile.

From 1751 to 1776 only two ships of this type were built for the Royal Navy because it was felt that they were anachronistic, with the lower (and more heavily armed) deck of guns being so low as to be unusable in anything but the calmest of waters.

[8] While preparing for a journey to the Guinea Coast on 15 January 1780 Endymion was badly damaged in a storm, losing her mizzenmast and cracking the mainmast.

[8][10] Ordered by Admiral Sir Thomas Pye to intercept a convoy making for Cherbourg, Endymion detained two neutral Danish merchant ships; Jarlsberg on 10 April, and De Mathia four days later.

[1][8] He was immediately obstructed in this plan when the previous commanding officer at Goree refused to hand over to the successor Endymion had brought, providing only sixty men for any Senegal operation.

[12] The ship was stationed off St Lucia when the Great Hurricane of 1780 arrived there on 10 October, driving her and the other vessels present from their anchorages and dismasting them; Endymion was nearly wrecked, and Carteret badly injured in a fall during the storm.

[15] Early in that year Carteret was ordered to sail Endymion back to England so that she could be fully repaired, at the time having only jury masts.

[15][17] The ship escorted a convoy as she made the journey, and captured the French 60-gun Indiaman Marquise de la Fayette, which was sailing en flute, on 3 May after a running battle of two hours.

[19] The ship arrived in Britain in July and then, to the "astonishment and mortification" of Carteret, who believed Endymion only needed relatively minor repairs, was paid off.

[1][19][17] The ship was recommissioned by Captain Edward Smith in October 1781 and sailed to join the Leeward Islands Station on 11 February the following year.

[1][20][21][c] In July the ship sailed with Admiral Hugh Pigot to America to shelter during the hurricane months, and then in November returned to the Leeward Islands to participate in the blockade of Cape Francois as part of the Jamaica Station.

Ordered to chase the ships, Endymion was quickly overtaken by the 36-gun frigate HMS Magicienne which, off San Domingo, engaged the French vessels in the action of 2 January 1783.

[25] Endymion returned to the British convoy on 4 January, having captured the French merchant ship Celerity whose cargo was valued at £20,000.

With the American Revolutionary War having ended, the ship was not recommissioned until October 1787 when Lieutenant Joseph Sall took command of her to operate as an en flute troopship.

[27] Under the command of Lieutenant Daniel Woodriff from February 1789, the ship embarked the 24th Regiment of Foot at Monkstown on 29 June to convey it to Quebec.

[30][31] Having reached North America, on 12 June Endymion sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia, taking the 47th Regiment of Foot to the Bahamas.