nine o'clock
A battery of guns was placed on Copp 's Hill , behind Boston , distant twelve hundred yards from the works , and this , also , opened fire . The Americans continued their work , throwing up fresh intrenchments ; and , singularly , only one man was killed by the fire from the ships and redoubt . A breastwork was carried down the hill to the flat ground which , intersected by fences , stretched away to the Mystic . By nine o'clock they had completed their intrenchments . Prescott sent off for re-enforcements , but there was little harmony among the colonial troops . Disputes between the contingents of the various provinces were common ; there was no head of sufficient authority to enforce his orders upon the whole ; and a long delay took place before the re-enforcements were sent forward . In the meantime the English had been preparing to attack the position .