About Kathryn Coombs:
Kathryn grew up in Falls Church, Virginia during the Civil War Centennial. One of her earliest memories was the old "hanging tree" on Broad Street, which local oral history traditions maintained had some (undocumented) connection with Mosby's men.
Back then, the old timers in Northern Virginia talked of the War as if it had happened only yesterday. They spoke of Mosby in hushed tones, as if he might appear around the corner any minute.
Ambrotype by Bob Szabo
of Kathryn with Jeff Smith
Around this time, the Gray Ghost television series ran on local tv. She was hooked.When other little girls were pretending to be princesses and ballerinas, she would pretend to be Northern Virginia's local hero -- John Singleton Mosby, and her other hero Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion. (who interestingly enough, was Col. Mosby's boyhood hero!)
An early self-taught reader, one of the first "grown up" books she ever read was the late, great Virgil Carrington Jones' Ranger Mosby.
A lifetime of other interests intervened -- a childhood spent as a US Navy dependent in Hawaii and Japan; a career in corporate communications strategy, media and government relations in Washington, the UK and the European Union; living in England for 13 years; consulting work in the former Soviet Union, a stint as a US Presidential campaign staffer, and setting up her own Internet business.
However, throughout this period, she maintained an interest in the Civil War era, Virginia in particular and in "Mosby's Confederacy" most of all, with many other hobbies and interests broadly relevant to living history portrayals -- local history and genealogical research, horseback riding, blackpowder shooting, antique collecting, quilting and handicrafts, historical clothing, and amateur dramatics.
In looking for Civil War living historians in the area who could advise her on how to get involved in the reenacting hobby, she met Jeff Smith and was impressed by his resemblance to Col. Mosby and shared interest in honoring the men of the 43rd Battalion. This website is the result.
Kathryn is a member of the Atlantic Guard Soldiers' Aid Society, one of America's leading authenticity-focused living history groups portraying middle and working class civilians of the Civil War era.
In addition, she assists Jeff in the planning, organizational and historical research aspects of Mosby's Rangers-related living history events, portraying and assisting others to portray the wide variety of civilians of Mosby's Confederacy who also played an important role in this exciting, yet tragic period in our nation's history.
If you'd like to try your hand at portraying a Northern Virginia civilian of the era, male or female, whether pro-Southern or pro-Northern, please drop her a line by email.
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