He then entered another period of retirement from active service, during which time he studied at the University of Caen, and travelled through both France and Portugal.

[1] With the outbreak of war with Revolutionary France in February 1793, Hamilton again returned to active service, being assigned to Lord Howe's flagship, the 100-gun first rate HMS Queen Charlotte.

By July he had moved to his brother, Sir Charles Hamilton's ship, the 28-gun HMS Dido, and was commissioned as a lieutenant on 29 October 1793.

Admiral Hood showed him special favour, though, when he exercised his right to promote whom he wished, and on 7 October he appointed Hamilton as Victory's first lieutenant.

He was present at the Naval Battle of Hyères Islands on 13 July 1795, shortly after which Admiral Jervis arrived to take command of the fleet.

[1] Jervis promoted Hamilton to commander on 11 February 1796, and appointed him to the fireship HMS Comet with orders to sail to the West Indies.

He was again promoted, this time to post-captain on 3 June 1797, and was initially appointed to serve aboard the 114-gun first-rate HMS San Josef, which had been captured at the Battle of Cape St Vincent.

He was then transferred to the 24-gun HMS Surprise, aboard which he sailed to Newfoundland, and then on to Jamaica, where he remained between October 1798 and January 1800, serving with the squadrons under Sir Hyde Parker.

He was a particularly effective frigate captain, capturing or destroying over 80 armed vessels, privateers and merchants, bringing in an estimated £200,000 in prize money.

It was while serving with Parker that Hamilton carried out the most famous act of his career, the cutting-out of the former HMS Hermione from the Spanish port of Puerto Cabello.

[4] When news of the mutiny reached Parker, he demanded the return of the ship and the surrender of the mutineers, instigating a process that would eventually see the apprehending of 33 of them.

News eventually reached Parker that the Santa Cecilia had been sighted in Puerto Cabello, and ordered the Surprise to intercept her, should she attempt to put to sea.

[2] In the ensuing struggle Hamilton and his men fought their way aboard the ship, overpowered the Spanish defenders after a hard-fought battle, and sailed the Hermione out of the port.

[2] Perhaps due to the injury to his head he had sustained in the action on the Hermione, or because of a degree of insanity aggravated by the hero worship he received, Hamilton soon revealed a ruthless streak.

The first Lieutenant stated that the guns appeared remarkably clean save for the footprints of the topmen who had stood on them to ascend the shrouds some time after.

[13] Later, having risen to the rank of admiral, he recalled his time aboard; I should be loth to say what my opinion of Sir Edward Hamilton might have become had I stopped much longer in Trent.