For the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill, the fighting took place in Gloucester.

The seaside community brought 1775, and one of the Revolutionary War’s major battlegrounds, back to life through vignettes, battle demonstrations and even lectures.

Reenactors came not only from the New England states but also from up and down the East Coast bedecked in period garb and detail.

The hundreds of tightly packed tents in Gloucester’s Stage Fort Park were busy with the reenactors cleaning their old, sensitive muskets or drinking from silver and pewter tankards or tending to cast iron pots. But amid the scene setting came the war.

“Colonial forces will race to build fortifications atop the hill as the Royal Navy bombards the American position to soften its defense in preparation for amphibious assault,” reenactment organizers wrote of their plans.

“British soldiers will then be ferried to the beachhead before charging the American lines — attacking the hill three times before taking it through bitter combat.”

Saturday’s event was a cap to the anniversary celebrations of the June 17, 1775, battle that began June 8 in Boston and featured 70 free public events including a reenactment of Paul Revere’s ride and a 200th anniversary of the Bunker Hill Monument, whose cornerstone was set 50 years after the battle by the Marquis De Lafayette.

So why Gloucester? The organizers have an answer.

“Much has changed in the 250 years since the Battle of Bunker Hill. Charlestown is no longer a rural village surrounded by pastures, accessible only by ferry or a day’s journey on foot. Today, it is a thriving neighborhood, and its only visible link to 1775 is the four-acre plot atop Breed’s Hill, home to the 221-foot monument commemorating the battle,” organizers write on the event’s website.

Plus, the National Park Service strictly regulates such things: “Simply put, we cannot use the site for a reenactment.”