Le Dragon, on her second voyage to the West Indies, was surrounded and threatened by Admiral Hood's large British squadron. Her commander, the young Chevalier de l'Espine, had no other solution than grounding his vessel between the reefs of Monte-Christi roads, Haïti and scuttling her to avoid capture by the enemy. He could then bring his crew, his precious spy-passenger and his secret mail to Cape François, Santo Domingo on 22 January 1783, a few days before the end of the war.
