About Us

The Louisville Courier-Journal Published in its January 20, 1961, edition the following news item: “The Civil War Round Table of Louisville, a group of Civil War students, was formed last night at Big Spring Golf Club. Elected to the Board of Directors were Frank G. Rankin, H. Collins Reid, Kennedy Helm, Richard Hill, Thomas Speckman, Ernest Walker and Seaton Huff. Dr. Hambleton Tapp, chairman of the Civil War Centennial Commission of Kentucky, spoke on the Battle of Perryville. This was the first meeting of the Louisville Civil War Round Table

The Louisville Civil War Round Table was the creation of Frank Rankin and some of his friends and acquaintances who were serious students of the Civil War. They had been making the trek on U. S. highway 60 to Lexington five times a year to meet with the Kentucky Civil War Round Table. According to Frank Rankin, “those occasions were presided over by the great Kentucky historian and raconteur Judge William F. Townsend who was already a legend”. Inspired by these meetings and the coming of the Civil War Centennial celebration, the group decided to found their own organization that in the words of Frank Rankin, “to share the War and its attending good fellowship in our hometown”. “Finally, on January 19, 1961, General Robert E. Lee’s 154th birthday, about 70 men met at Big Spring Country Club to hear Dr, Hambleton Tapp, and thus the Louisville Civil War Round Table was born.”

There were seventy charter members of the Round Table all of whom are now deceased. Lowell Griffin just missed being a charter member as he began attending the second meeting after seeing the newspaper article. From this humble beginning, the membership grew dramatically, and the Round Table was able to attract some of the very best Civil War historians to speak at our meetings. Great historians and scholars such as James I. Robertson Jr., William C. Davis, T. Harry Williams, Gary Gallagher and a host of other great historians have spoken to our members over the years.

Frank G. Rankin, Our Founder

Without a doubt, the Louisville Civil War Round Table owes its existence and success to one great individual and leader, Frank G. Rankin, the person we honor at each January meeting with the annual Frank Rankin Lecture now in its 30th year. Many other individuals have worked hard and contributed much to this organization, but all those who knew Frank and worked with him agree that Frank was a great leader and the driving force that inspired others until he passed away on January 20, 1994. Frank was a person who “knew everyone” from famous historians and scholars to governors, politicians, and business leaders of Kentucky whom he would call on to attend and to speak at the Round Table.

He was born on August 13, 1906 in Louisville and grew up hearing firsthand Civil War Veterans tell their stories of the war. He knew Basil Duke and met and shook hands with John Mosby and walked the battlefields of Virginia with Douglas Southall Freeman. He was a collector of Civil War books and memorabilia before it became popular and amassed a rare and voluminous library of books and artifacts including a Confederate battle flag of an Arkansas regiment that fought at Perryville. After graduation from duPont Manual Training High School in 1922, He entered the grain business with S. Zorn & Company becoming sales manager in 1938. In 1942, he joined Gold Proof Grain Elevator Co., the second largest grain marketing cooperative in the United States. Here he rose to the position of general manager. In this position he helped supply grain to many of Kentucky’s major distilleries.

Frank dedicated a significant part of his life to preserving and promoting Kentucky’s regional heritage. In 1975 Governor Julian Carroll appointed him to the Kentucky Historic Preservation Review Board. Later he was chosen to head the Louisville Historic Landmarks and Kentucky Heritage commissions. Under his leadership, the Cherokee Triangle became a Louisville preservation district. In 1958, Frank was elected president of the Kentucky Derby Festival Committee. In 1967, Rankin was named chairman of the Governor’s Commission to commemorate Kentucky’s 175th statehood anniversary. He was a member of the Board of Directors of Lincoln Memorial University, the Bank of Louisville, and a member of the Harry Kendall Masonic Lodge. Frank was also a leader in many charitable and civic organizations including the Scottish Rite, Kosair Shrine Temple and the Royal order of Jesters.

Frank was instrumental in having the state of Kentucky set aside land at Perryville and making it a state park. This was the beginning of the efforts to preserve the entire battlefield. Frank also persuaded the state government of Kentucky to place a monument at the site of the Gettysburg address in the National Cemetery. It is the only state monument that has been placed there.

Frank Rankin is remembered for his ability to lead and inspire others to work and give of themselves to further the mission of the Round Table in providing opportunities for people to learn about the Civil War.

Frank Rankin passed away at his home on January 20, 1994 at the age of 87. Fittingly he died on January 20th, between the birthdays of two of his heroes. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Mike Mills once said of Frank that the members of the Round Table “are all under the shadow of Frank Rankin, a man who was not perfect or a saint, but was a man who loved this nation, this Kentucky soil and each of us”.

Perryville Scout Treks

In May of 1961 the Round Table became involved in one of its greatest achievements. Inspired by a visit to the battlefield at Perryville, Frank Rankin and two of his friends decided to start “a Boy and Girl Scout Trek to be held each year over the battlefield to learn its history”. Frank persuaded Thomas Speckman to become Trek Chairman, and the event became a spectacular success. According to Frank, “on October 7, 1961 about 3,000 scouts walked the 15-mile trail and heard Round Table members lecture at different check points in order to receive their medals”. The tradition continued for several years with other trails being added to the experience. Thousands of scouts learned from our members the story of the battle and have carried this memory with them the rest of their lives. The Round Table’s involvement ended in the 1980’s when legal concerns and the cost of insurance forced us to regrettably end this tradition.

Field Trips

Another great tradition of the Round Table that began early on was the taking of field trips to battlefields. The first trips were day treks to Kentucky sites and featured noted Kentuckian historians as guides. In the early 1980’s the trips became larger and encompassed more detail and the tradition began of alternating each year between the “Western and Eastern” theaters. Kenny Hafendorfer took over the leadership of the field trips and annually put together some great field trips that became very popular. Over the years they have grown in size and attendance. At first, the trips had fifteen or twenty participants. In 2011 we took a group of fifty to Gettysburg and began using large tour buses for our trips. Our trips feature outstanding guides, and we strive to make them affordable to our membership. We have been to nearly every major battlefield of the Civil War with only covid causing the cancellation of two trips in the last 35 years. We have also taken several one day trips in the fall to Kentucky Civil War sites.

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The Annual Preservation Grant

At a Board of Directors meeting in 1999, the members of the Board approved an annual Preservation grant to a Kentucky Civil War site. The first grant was given in 2000 to the Camp Wildcat foundation to be used for purchasing battlefield land at the Wildcat Mountain battlefield site. The grant is a reflection of our concern and commitment to preserving Civil War sites as they are increasingly in danger of being lost to development. Over the years we have given grants to nearly all the Civil War sites in the state of Kentucky. We have also partnered with the American Battlefield Trust to obtain matching funds for preservation efforts at Perryville and have helped preserve major acreage there as well at the Richmond battlefield. We focus on sites in Kentucky and though land acquisition is a priority, we also will give grants for interpretive signage and other educational material. In the past 25 years the Round Table has given over $30,000 for preservation efforts.

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