Lane Smith is very familiar to the Round Table, serving as its President in 2010 and 2011. Lane currently serves as its Sergeant at Arms.

Several years ago, Lane was serving as a member of a committee that was planning a Civil War Expo. The members of the committee wanted to find a General Grant and a General Lee to participate in that Expo. The committee knew of a General Grant, but no one knew of a General Lee. A member of the committee looked at Lane and said: “You look like him." Lane has since performed as General Lee with General Grant, at many forums and has performed “General Lee, 1869” at an equal number of forums. At our Round Table meeting in March 2015, Lane and Randy Durbin performed a three-part play as General Lee and General Grant at Appomattox.

Lane was born in Detroit, Michigan. His family moved to Missouri, where Lane grew up, graduating from high school in Ridgeway, Missouri. He graduated from Northwest Missouri State University in 1966. Lane worked in the insurance industry before retiring in 2006. Lane and his wife, Anne, have three sons and one grandson.

Lane is also a current member of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War and Sons of Confederate Veterans of the Civil War. Lane likes to say he is an “S.O.B.” or "sons of both."

Lane Smith frequently portrays Confederate General Robert E. Lee, most recently at the Battle of Westport 150 Commemoration.