Thirdly, at the action of 'the Betwa', he again voluntarily acted as my Aide-de-Camp, and distinguished himself by his bravery in the charge, which I made with Captain Need's Troop, Her Majesty's 14th Light Dragoons, against the left of the so-called Peishwa's Army, under Tantia Topee.

He however continued to serve in the Indian Army, and in 1867 was appointed field engineer to the Abyssinian War (1867–68), after which he was promoted to brevet lieutenant-colonel.

[6] Although only a relatively junior general officer, in October 1885 Prendergast was selected to lead the Burma Field Force in the Third Anglo-Burmese War.

He achieved initial success, with Mandalay occupied on 29 November 1885, and was created a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in recognition.

[1] In retirement, Prendergast was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) in the 1902 Coronation Honours list,[7][8] and was invested by King Edward VII at Buckingham Palace on 8 August 1902.

[14][15] However, a subsequent 2020 study of its metal composition demonstrated it was an unusually close match to other Victoria Crosses, and in particular those dated to the same year, suggesting it was in fact genuine.