He joined the 98 gun, second rate, HMS Boyne, the flagship of Sir John Jervis in the West Indies, shortly after the outbreak of the French revolutionary wars and in 1793 he was promoted to acting lieutenant with his position being confirmed on 9 January 1794.

[1] Rutherfurd was in the thick of the action during the 1794 West Indies campaign, serving with distinction as a junior officer in command of a landing party; storming forts on Martinique and taking part in operations in St Lucia and Guadeloupe.

[2] The following year he was granted the 74 gun new ship Swiftsure participating in the blockade of the French Atlantic Coast and in the summer of 1805 he was dispatched to join Admiral Nelson's fleet off Cadiz and so was present at the battle on 21 October.

[2] Situated far to the rear of Admiral Collingwood's division, Rutherfurd made strenuous efforts to reach the battle, but although she was quite a new ship Swiftsure had been at sea for sometime and so had damage to her hull which prevented her from making great speed.

[2] Rutherfurd returned to Gibraltar and from there travelled to Britain, where he was rewarded for his part in the action, but was then relegated to shore service and long periods of unemployment, unfortunately not possessing the seniority to make the jump to Admiral that so many of his contemporaries did.