DUELING AT DALLAS

MARBLE HILL -- George Reed loves a good battle.

A Civil War re-enactor from Glen Allen, Reed likes to step back into history dressed as a Confederate commander.

But this weekend he plans to be above the fray as one of the organizers of the first Dallas Days event in Marble Hill.

"I will be dressed up as the town marshal or county sheriff," said Reed. That way, he said, it won't look like he is favoring the blue or the gray.

The two-day affair will feature re-enactments of two Civil War skirmishes that took place in Marble Hill in April and August 1862. At that time, Marble Hill was known as Dallas.

About 65 re-enactors will take part in the event. The participants include those portraying Confederate and Union soldiers and their families, all dressed in authentic-style clothing from that time period.

In addition to re-enactments, a private collection of period clothing will be displayed. A blacksmith will demonstrate his trade.

Marble Hill's Wicecarver Store, across from the Bollinger County Courthouse, will be open today.

Most of the original interior of the former dry goods store remains intact. The store has been closed for years, but its owner opens it for special events. Commemorative quilts and albums of historic photographs of Marble Hill will be displayed in the former store.

The old art and science building of the former Will Mayfield College will be open for tours from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today.

Dallas Days is sponsored by the Bollinger County Historical Society and Reed's Confederate re-enactment group, Company B of the Second Missouri State Guard.

Jeanie Troy of the Bollinger County Historical Society said the event is designed to highlight some of Bollinger County's history.

Troy said the open house at the former Mayfield College is designed to foster public interest in the structure for possible future use as a higher-education center affiliated with Southeast Missouri State University.

"A lot of people who live here don't even know that there was a college here," she said.

The first Civil War skirmish will start at 10 a.m. It will be staged near the Bollinger County Courthouse and the historic Massey House, a two-story log house that dates back to 1869.

The second skirmish will take place at 3 p.m. at the Twin City Baseball Park.

A tactical engagement is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday at the park. The tactical engagement is more like a war game whereas the re-enactments are designed to follow the script of what happened in the actual battle or skirmish.

But even the re-enactments aren't always true to history, Reed said.

Today's skirmishes will have "some Hollywood in it to liven it up a little bit," Reed said.

In April 1862, there was a skirmish between Union and Confederate troops. Some soldiers were injured, but no one died as union troops took control of the courthouse.

Today's re-enactment will be more dramatic, Reed promised.

"We are going to have casualties, and execute some people and throw some people in jail, and just have a big time," said Reed.

The second skirmish will re-enact the Aug. 24, 1862, battle along Crooked Creek when some 300 Confederate soldiers routed 268 Union troops.

Reed's re-enactment group, Company B of the Missouri State Guard, will have its 15 members at Dallas Days. The unit was a Bollinger County cavalry group during the war.

A number of other Confederate and Union groups also will converge on Marble Hill.

The union troops are likely to be outnumbered. "Yankees are hard to come by in this country," Reed said.

These days, most re-enactors are foot soldiers.

At Dallas Days, there will be some 12 to 15 soldiers on horseback. It will be about evenly split between the Confederate and Union sides, Reed said.

Reed said it is costly to maintain a cavalry outfit. Saddles and other equipment that are reproductions of Civil War-era items can cost $1,000 for a single mount. It costs about $1,000 to purchase a good cavalry horse, Reed said.

Reed has been involved in re-enactments for three years.

"I am a history buff to begin with," he said.

Missouri's Civil War history seldom is taught in the schools, he said.

"There were literally hundreds of skirmishes that were fought on a daily basis in Missouri during the Civil War.

"Missouri had more battles or skirmishes fought in it than any other state with the exception of Tennessee and Virginia," Reed said.

DALLAS DAYS: RE-ENACTMENT SCHEDULE IN MARBLE HILL

Today, Oct. 10

8 a.m. - Camp open to public

- Drill by various units

10 a.m. - Skirmish between Confederate forces and Union troops at Massey House and Courthouse to secure Dallas and declare martial law

- Loyalty investigations and arrests

1 p.m. - Drill demonstrations at camp site

3 p.m. - Second battle of Dallas near oritinal site on Crooked Creek at Twin City Baseball Park

7 p.m. - Drill demonstration by 8th Missouri CSA

- Optimist Club Horse Show at Twin City baseball field arena.

Sunday, Oct. 11

10 a.m. - Church service at front pavilion of Twin City Park

1 p.m. - Tactical Civil War battle at Twin City Baseball Park

3 p.m. - Break camp

NAME GAME

A brief history of the naming of Marble Hill.

In March 1851, Dr. Thomas Hamilton platted a village called New California on a 10-acre parcel in Bollinger County. The name may have come from the fact that the town was founded only a few years after the start of the California Gold Rush.

By December 1851, the Bollinger County commissioners had obtained an additional 10 acres, which were combined with New California to serve a sthe county seat. They named the town, Dallas. Bollinger County Historical Society officials say they don't know wny that name was chosen. The Postal Service didn't use that name. Instead, the post office refered to the area as Greene.

In 1868, the Bollinger County Court ordered the town be renamed Marble Hill. An amateur geologist suggested the name, mistakenly thinking that the hills in the area contained marble. Two reasons were given for changing the Name: It cleared up the confusion assoiated with having a town known by two names. It also gave a new start to a town that had developed a bad reputation as a place of thives, robbers and bushwackers during the civil war.