 He was created Earl of Buccleuch, with the subsidiary title Baron Scott of Whitchester and Eskdaill, on 16 May 1619.In 1624 several members of the Eliot family conspired to murder the earl, but their attempt came to nothing.He was commander of a detachment of Scotsmen in the service of Holland in 1629 against the Spaniards, when he served at the Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch.