The fort initially held eight cannons, barracks for 100 men, two blockhouses, and an outer wall composed of fascines, sticks and sod. By 1778, the fort consisted of a more substantial blockhouse and barracks located within a palisade, as well as an abatis. A further third blockhouse was constructed at the east end of the hill, which was the continuation of a ridge formed by the St. Croix Highlands - a coastal extension of the Appalachian Mountains along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy. Upon completion of the fort the British Army named it Fort Howe, after Sir William Howe, Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in America between 1775-1778. The fortification provided watch over the strategic river mouth and offered protection for surrounding rural communities from American privateers and marauding forces.