The sight of an angry governor marching down to Tobacco Bay in a re-enactment of a dramatic night in Bermuda’s history captivated residents on Saturday.

The replay of the Gunpowder Plot of 1775 received resounding applause as the Bermuda Pilot Gig Club reproduced the daring episode when the island played a significant role in the American War of Independence.

The event marked the 250th anniversary of the infamous event.

The scene — which was narrated by Kristin White, of Long Story Short — involved several dozen men mooring their boats on the shores of Tobacco Bay with their fingers on their lips to capture the secrecy of the plot.

The men ran uphill and broke into the unguarded ammunition magazine above Tobacco Bay, re-enacting what happened on August 14, 1775.

They then ran downhill with 100 casks of British gunpowder, delivering them to a rebel ship that waited offshore.

The operation was thought to have been co-ordinated by Colonel Henry Tucker with the knowledge of rebel leaders such as Benjamin Franklin.

The stolen powder made it to the Continental Army under George Washington, providing much needed munitions for key US engagements, notably in Boston, Massachusetts and Charleston.

At Saturday’s event, George Bruere, the Governor, played by John Dale, rushed down the slope towards Tobacco Bay, calling the theft “a most atrocious” and “heinous crime”, as spectators looked on in glee.

He shouted angrily at the men, ran on to the beach and tried to board a small boat but fell overboard. He failed to catch the thieves who by this time were way offshore with the gunpowder.

Ms White said that during the time of the plot, the island was caught in the middle of tensions which led to all-out war in the American colonies.

“Geographically, economically, politically, the colonies in America were Bermuda’s closest trading partners,” she said.

At the time, a decision was made that any country that did not join a rebellion against Britain would suffer a trade embargo.

Ms White said Mr Bruere, who took up office on the island a decade before the plot, was “not well liked” by the merchants at the time. Ultimately, the island was caught between loyalty to Britain and ties to American kin and trade partners.

She then led spectators through the story as the actor playing Mr Bruere swam ashore in the background, having failed to retrieve the stolen gunpowder.

The event commemorated the late Maurice Johnson, a revered founding member of the pilot gig club, coxswain, boatswain and storyteller who died this year.

Brenda Dale, from the club, said that in February, at one of the last events Mr Johnson attended, he was looking forward to organising the event.

“Then sadly he passed away so this event meant a whole lot to us and we are ever grateful,” she said.

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