9 o'clock at night
It had bastions at every corner , and four gates , over three of which were built strong blockhouses for observation and defense . The gates faced the four cardinal points of the compass , and it was the one looking towards the south that was without a blockhouse . There was a picket beside every gate . The gates were opened at sunrise and closed at sunset , but the wickets were left open until 9 o'clock at night . This fortification , so formidable in the wilderness , was armed in a manner fitting its strength . Every blockhouse contained four six-pounders and two batteries of six large guns each , faced the river , which was only forty feet away and with very steep banks . Inside the great palisade were barracks for five hundred men , a brick store , a guard house , a hospital , a governor 's house , and many other buildings .