The British fleet, commanded by Admiral Peter Parker, consisted of twenty ships, nine of which were armed. The entire fleet had 270 guns. The British relied on local harbor pilots who had been impressed into their service. The pilots were ordered to bring the first ships to anchorage close enough so that the others could anchor very near the fort. The battle plan called for a sally conducted by three other ships that would round the western side of the fort and fire into the unfinished portion. A bomb ketch, armed with a large mortar, was to lob shots into the fort.

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