Although they had recalibrated twice, in Winters' and Andre's view, the several heavy cannons aimed toward the bay were still lobbing thirty-two-pound iron balls into the shipyard with no accuracy at all.
Rather than providing fire support for the sailors, it was more like they were firing off cannons to cheer. The main purpose was to make some noise and incidentally notify everyone that the fort had changed hands.
After a period of silence, when the artillery at the Duckbill Fort roared back to life, the Navy Lieutenant Colonel commanding the sailors assaulting the shipyard acutely sensed that the tide of battle seemed to be changing.
The Duckbill Fort's guns, which had originally fired at the water, now turned to start firing at the Navy shipyard.
Although the shells were hitting attackers and Navy sailors alike, making it seem like the assailants' poor marksmanship might be to blame, there was another possibility—the reinforcements had arrived and recaptured the fort.