author
R. C. (Richard C.) Rankin
Best known for writing a firsthand regimental history of the Civil War, this veteran of the Seventh Ohio Volunteer Cavalry left behind a detailed account of the unit’s service on the Kentucky and Tennessee frontiers. His book has endured as a useful primary-source record for readers interested in soldiers’ experiences during the war.
1 Audiobook
History of the Seventh Ohio Volunteer Cavalry
by R. C. (Richard C.) Rankin
About the author
R. C. Rankin, identified in library records as Richard C. Rankin, is known for History of the Seventh Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, first published in 1881. The book centers on the wartime service of the Seventh Ohio Volunteer Cavalry and has been preserved by projects such as Project Gutenberg, which helps show its continuing historical value.
The work stands out because it was written from close knowledge of the regiment rather than from a distant summary. Contemporary digital editions describe Rankin as the author of a focused narrative of the regiment’s organization, movements, and service during the American Civil War, making the book especially appealing to listeners who enjoy eyewitness-style military history.
Very little biographical information about Rankin is easy to confirm from the sources available here, so it is safest to remember him chiefly through this single surviving work. Even so, that book gives him a clear place among the soldier-historians who helped preserve the memory of Civil War service for later generations.