noon
`` The British were amazed to find heavy artillery thundering along the whole line , and wondered how and where the Americans had got their guns and gunners . `` It was a terrible fight . Packenham sent a detachment of infantry to turn the American left , but they were driven back in terror by the Tennesseeans under Coffee . After that , the conflict was between the batteries alone , and before noon the fire of the British had sensibly abated . Then they abandoned their works and fled helter-skelter to the ditches for safety ; for their demi-lunes were crushed and broken , the hogsheads , of which they were largely composed , having been reduced to splinters and the sugar that had filled them mixed with the earth . Some of their guns were dismounted , others careened so that it was very difficult to work them , while the fire of the Americans was still unceasing . At noon , as I have said , they gave up the contest .