On September 15 - 16, 2012 Camden County Museum and the 4th Missouri Cavalry Reenactors will co-host a Maximum Effort Reenactment of the Battle at Monday’s Hollow (the only Civil War battle fought in Camden County).The event will take place on the Missouri Trapshooter Association grounds on A Road in Linn Creek.

This event, sponsored by the Camden County Historical Society & Museum and the Fourth Missouri Cavalry Reenactors, will feature a full-scale reenactment of the battle on both Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free to this maximum-effort reenactment of the only Civil War battle fought in Camden County. Parking is available for suggested donations of $10 per car and $5 per motorcycle.  

The Civil War festival will feature a multitude of activities and will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. The reenactment of the Battle of Monday's Hollow will start at 1 p.m. each day and is expected to last 45 minutes to an hour. According to period reports, the actual Battle of Monday's Hollow took place on Oct. 13, 1861 and lasted less than a day. Battle reenactments of this scale generally attract an average of about 400-600 reenactors and spectators can often number in the thousands.

Each day visitors can travel back in time to the 1860s with a variety of era-themed activities before, during and after the battle. Guests can walk through Confederate and Union military camps and interact with the soldiers on both sides. Patrons also can hear live Civil War-era music performed by singers and musicians on Saturday, as well as watch period reenactment speakers on both days. A Civil War-era worship service is also scheduled at 8 a.m. Sunday.

Other planned activities include a "sutler village" of period vendors, craftsmen, traveling museums and a Civil War-era medical tent. Inside the tent, visitors will learn how surgery was performed and how illnesses were treated in the 1860s, as well as observe Union and Confederate wounded soldiers as they receive medical attention in the heat of battle.

Additional 1860s-era stations will showcase a laundress, woodworkers and soapmakers. A children's area will feature an interactive air cannon, a station where kids can learn to make rope and other fun activities. A variety of food vendors also are scheduled to be at the site, featuring pulled pork, chicken and ribeye sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, nachos, funnel cakes, kettle corn, ice cream and more.

Three special guests will help "review the troops" during the reenactment: John Seward, a retired brigadier general and the last living male descendant of President Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of State William Seward, along with Brandon and Chase Mills, the great-great grandson and great-great-great grandson of a Union soldier who fought at the Battle of Monday's Hollow.

For more information on the Battle of Monday's Hollow Reenactment visit the Camden County Museum website. To find lodging specials you can check out the Battle of Monday's Hollow lodging specials page.