In 1777, Fort Mifflin looks a lot different than what is visible today, and for good reason. With a thousand cannonballs an hour coming in from many directions for six weeks, the fort takes on extensive damage. Many gun crews are killed at their station, cannons are disabled, gun platforms are shattered, and barracks are destroyed. When the firing finally ceases, the fort does not resemble a military base, but rather an abandoned junkyard with exploded earth and timber left in piles around the muddy grounds.

Refusing to go down without a fight, Continental soldiers are as prepared as they could be when going up against the almighty British naval forces. The walls are lined with 12-, 18-, 24-, and 32-pounder cannons. In the final hours, cannon artillery runs short. Private Joseph Plum Martin (1760-1850) notes in his journal, "...a dram of rum was offered for every cannon-ball that could be picked up...". With hundreds of cannonballs raining down on the fort, men risk their lives to retrieve British cannonballs that had not exploded before the thick mud can swallow them. The retrieved artillery is then loaded into our guns and fired back at those bloody Redcoats.