The Tank Bay Wreck is believed to be the French East Indiaman Lyon. Christened in 1762 as Beaumont, the ship was built to a weight of 900 tons, length of 145 feet, and breadth of 37ft. Its armament was 26 12-pound cannons. It served the French East India Company as a self-protected trading vessel, voyaging between France and China for twelve years. Beaumont was purchased in 1774 by two major ship owners from Saint Malo, France, who likely fitted it for transporting enslaved Africans (Guibert et al. 2021:16-17) to China for two years. It was purchased again in 1777 by Jacques-Donatien Le Ray Chaumont, a French aristocrat and American revolutionary sympathizer. Chaumont re-christened the vessel Lyon and deployed it as a blockade runner to deliver war supplies to the Continental Army. With its large decks serving as fighting platforms and its massive storage capacity, Lyon was ideal for breaking through British-held waters with supplies in bulk (Guibert et al. 2021:15-17). Lyon is noted multiple times in the naval records of the Continental Navy carrying trade goods exchanged between France and the American Colonies.
On its final voyage, Lyon was attacked by Captain Alan Gardner of HMS Maidstone. Lyon capitulated after a 14-hour running battle. HMS Maidstone captured the vessel and its large consignment of tobacco, gunpowder and other valuable materials, a significant prize for the Royal Navy crew and their Captain Gardener (Garnder 1776: 1). Gardner sailed the critically damaged Lyon into English Harbour, Antigua (Guibert et al. 2021: 16-17). After offloading all valuables appropriated for the English war effort, Lyon was stripped down to the waterline and scuttled inside the Harbour, where it remains to this day. Its timbers were used to repair vessels and build dockyard infrastructure.