Chris Grabowski - A.K.A. Charles Grogan -
I have chosen Charles (Charley) Grogan as my Mosby persona. My reasons for choosing Charley were sort of roundabout, but as most things with this particular unit, the similarities between Charlie and myself became so abundant as to be kind of spooky.
I came to the 43rd from the 7th Tennessee Vol. Cav., located in Memphis. My wife and I had just moved back to the Pacific Northwest after living in Bowling Green, Kentucky for two years. I was looking for a cavalry unit to join and Steve (Big Yankee) invited me to a Mosby's drill. I immediately felt at home and was accepted into the unit with open arms. The 7th Tennessee didn't push the idea of adopting historical persona however, so most of my equipment was already marked with my own initials, CG. When I joined the 43rd, I began to look at the Battalion's rosters to try and find names that 1) had the same initials as my own so I didn't have to re-mark all of my belongings, and 2) were preferably Irish, to reflect the Irish part of my heritage. Finally, I settled on Charley Grogan. Grogan was actually a Lieutenant in Company D, the "Darlings", so called because they spent large amounts of time and money on making sure that they were very well uniformed and groomed. This, however, did not diminish in the slightest their ability to fight, and Mosby relied on them heavily. This was the first thing that "fit" with me as the other guys are always poking fun at me for being so "clean" and "polite" and having Persian rugs in my tent, and all the other comforts of home. Grogan was indeed a fighter, and got into several scrapes with Billings Steele, portrayed in our unit by my good friend Mark Liewergen. This is another incident of the reality being paralleled by our unit. Next came the fact that Grogan was a Bailiff for the courts before and after the war. I am in civil law enforcement and hold a limited police commission. Although our duties are different, it struck me as odd that we would both be officers of the court. The "clincher" came when I found a photo of Grogan with Mosby and some other officers taken during the war. There is a distinct likeness between Charley and myself. We are both of moderate height and slightly built, with dark hair and a moustache. There's even a certain similarity in our faces.
All these things add up to my feeling that I chose correctly when I chose to portray Charles Grogan, and I hope that my portrayal honors his memory.