He later served on the ship of the line HMS Triumph at the Battle of Cape Finisterre and was subsequently called to give evidence at the court martial of Sir Robert Calder.

His career in Lark was cut short on 5 August 1778, when Captain John Brisbane, the senior officer off Rhode Island, ordered the frigate beached and burnt with four other ships when a French fleet under Vice-Admiral Comte d'Estaing appeared off the harbour.

[2] Inman and the rest of the crew were transferred to shore duties and over the following week engaged D'Estaing's ships from fixed gun batteries as they bombarded the British positions.

[3] Remaining on shore service in the West Indies for the next two years, Inman was again employed in the aftermath of the Battle of the Saintes, appointed to the prize crew of the captured French vessel Hector for the journey to Britain.

[5] Within a short period, Inman was the only officer remaining on deck, but he was able to successfully drive the French away following a failed attempt to board, although Hector was left in a severely damaged state with 75 men killed or wounded.

The snow set sail for St John's in Newfoundland, its crew and passengers subsisting on short rations; they arrived off the port on the same day they consumed the last water supplies.

[4] With the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793, Inman was transferred to Lord Hood's flagship HMS Victory in the Mediterranean, receiving a promotion to commander on 11 September.

[8] Romney was paid off on arrival in Britain and Inman returned to the reserve until 1796, when he was made temporary captain of Lion and then took command of the frigate HMS Espion.

[4] Belliqueux was assigned to the blockade of the French Atlantic seaport of Brest and Inman continued to perform this service after he was moved to HMS Ramillies during 1798, in which he participated in the chase that eventually led to the capture of Hercule.

Although the vessel's legal state was uncertain, no merchant claimed its cargo and in 1802 she was condemned and sold for over 247 l.[11] In November 1799, Andromeda was attached to the force that evacuated the Duke of York's army following the failure of the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland and he remained in the region, observing movements off the Elbe.

Although an assault with fireships failed, HMS Dart captured the French frigate Désirée,[13] with Inman following in the cutter Vigilant, crewed by thirty volunteers from Andromeda.

Under fire from all sides, Inman successfully boarded the French ship following her surrender and brought her out of the harbour, sending the crew ashore on parole to avoid having to assign men to guard them.

[14] In 1801, Désirée was attached to the fleet gathering at Yarmouth under Sir Hyde Parker and Lord Nelson for service in the Baltic Sea against the League of Armed Neutrality.

Désirée was ordered to operate at the Southern end of the Danish line, engaging shore batteries and nearby ships while their attention was focused on the main British battle-line.

Inman, whose health was beginning to suffer, resigned command and returned to his family on half-pay until the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars in 1803, when he was given the 64-gun ship of the line HMS Utrecht.

[21] Returning to his family ashore, Inman was initially given command of the sea fencibles at King's Lynn before he was made Admiralty commissioner at Madras by Lord Mulgrave in 1809.