In July 1785, Lyddiard wrote to the United States ambassador to Britain, John Adams, to secure his release.

The St. Jago had sailed from Lima loaded with some fifty-five to sixty tons of silver coin, gold bars, precious stones and plate, and in addition a valuable cargo of pewter, copper, bark, cocoa and wool.

[9] Captain William O'Bryen Drury assumed command of Powerful in August 1795,[2] and was attached to the North Sea Fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan.

As the second ship in Vice Admiral Richard Onslow's leeward division she followed Monarch in breaking the enemy line and was heavily engaged thereafter.

[14][15][16] From 1800 Powerful, under the command of Captain Sir Francis Laforey, served in the Baltic, Mediterranean, and the West Indies up until the Peace of Amiens.

[2] The ship arrived too late to take part in the Battle of Trafalgar in November 1805, and was later sent to reinforce the East India squadron, which was commanded by Rear Admiral Edward Pellew.

[21] In the action of 9 July 1806, disguised as an East Indiaman, and together with the sloop Rattlesnake, she captured the French privateer Bellone, which had been a serious threat to British trade.

The following year Powerful returned to England under the command Captain Charles James Johnston, where despite her poor material condition she was pressed into service during the Walcheren Campaign.