He was the third son of Thomas Everard of Randilestown, by his wife and cousin, Barbara, daughter of O'Reilly of Ballinlough Castle, and sister of Sir Henry Nugent, was appointed ensign in the 2nd or Queen's, regiment at Gibraltar 28 September 1804, and became lieutenant 21 March 1805.
In December 1805 the company to which young Everard belonged, with two others of his regiment and two of the 54th foot, were captured on their voyage home from Gibraltar by a French squadron of six sail of the line and some frigates, under Admiral Ganteaume, bound for Mauritius.
While employed Everard led the forlorn hope at the storming of Montevideo 3 Feb. 1807, when twenty-two out of thirty-two men with him were killed or wounded.
During the latter he was thanked in general orders for his conduct at the siege of Flushing, 12 Aug. 1809, when the flank companies of the 14th, one of which he commanded, supported by the rest of the battalion, in conjunction with some of the German legion, stormed one of the enemy's batteries and effected a lodgment within musket-shot of the walls.
He commanded a flank battalion in the operations against the Pindarrees in 1818–19, was made regimental major 10 July 1821, and commanded it at the storming of Bhurtpore 29 December 1825, when the 14th headed one of the columns of assault, and unsupported cleared the breach after the premature explosion of a mine, and effected a junction with the other column led by the 59th foot, the steadiness and discipline of these two regiments, to quote the words of Lord Combermere, "deciding the fate of the day".