“Irish Biddy”— Fact or Fiction?

Bridget Divers, also known as Diver, Deaver, Deavers, Devens, Devins, and Devan; and under the nicknames of “Irish Biddy” or “Michigan Bridget” looms large in the lore of women and Irish immigrants who took part in the Civil War. But what was her actual role? Was she a fighting soldier? A nurse? Did she follow her husband into the ranks? How much of her story is fact and how much is fiction, embellished for a 19^th century audience?

This much is certain—Divers was a real person. In an account written in 1865 and published in 1876, a nurse mentions that Divers “is an Irish woman, has been in the country 16 years, and is now 26 years of age”[1] which if you do the math, makes Divers date of birth 1839 and the time of her immigration around 1849. According to research done by James S. Hannum, immigration indexes reveal that a “Biddy Diver” arrived in Philadelphia in July 1849 from County Londonderry, Ireland, aboard the ship Afton. She was described as 11 years old and no other Diver names appeared on the ship’s passenger list.[2]

“Michigan Bridget” Print by J.J. Wade

Divers is also mentioned in several letters and written accounts by her contemporaries, including United States Sanitary Commission leader Mary Livermore, who included an image in her memoirs of Divers carrying a flag into battle.[3] Nurse Charlotte McKay, in her memoir, wrote of taking a trip in 1865 to a cavalry camp with Divers:

Bridget – or, as the men call her, Biddy, – has probably seen more of hardship and danger than any other woman during the war. She has been with the cavalry all the time, going out with them on their cavalry raids – always ready to succor the wounded on the field – often getting men off who, but for her, would be left to die, and, fearless of shell or bullet, among the last to leave.[4]

Rebecca Usher, Maine Historical Society

 Divers is most closely associated with the Michigan cavalry, and while accounts often state that she followed her husband into that service, no one with that last name can be found on the rolls. She may have been married to a man who was not from Michigan, as there are a couple of accounts where she is tending to her wounded husband at the Battle of Fair Oaks while with a Massachusetts regiment.[5] Married or not, Divers did follow along with the 1^st Michigan Cavalry and she is mentioned in an 1865 letter written by Civil War nurse Rebecca Usher, who wrote to her family in Maine:

A few days ago I saw Bridget, who came out with the First Michigan Cavalry, and has been with the regiment ever since. She had just come in with the body of a captain who was killed in a cavalry skirmish. She had the body lashed to her horse, and carried him fifteen miles, where she procured a coffin, and sent him home. She says that this is the hardest battle they have had, and the ground was covered with the wounded. She had not slept for 48 hours, having worked incessantly with the wounded. She is brave, heroic, and a perfect enthusiast in her work.[6]

 Military records show that the 1st Michigan Cavalry did lose their captain at the Battle of Five Forks and that he died on the way to the hospital after being wounded.

Battle of Five Forks, Kurz and Allison Print

Divers was revered among the soldiers in her regiment as she cared for them even at the risk of her own life. She was also concerned with the spiritual health of the troops and often distributed books and supplies from the Christian Commission. Divers’ role in the regiment had many descriptions, including vivandière, nurse,  and hospital steward.[7] Whether she also acted as a soldier is up for debate—although Mary Livermore offers an intriguing view:

Sometimes when a soldier fell she took his place, fighting in his stead with unquailing courage. Sometimes she rallied retreating troops- sometimes she brought off the wounded from the field- always fearless and daring, always doing good service as a soldier.[8]

 Divers is also credited with rallying the troops at the Battle of Fair Oaks in June 1862, when Confederates launched a surprise attack that initially drove Union soldiers off the field.[9]

By the end of the war, Divers was working with the United States Sanitary Commission at the Cavalry Corps Hospital in City Point, Virginia. While many historians believe that she stayed with the army after the war and traveled to the West, there is no solid evidence to support this theory. What is undeniable, however, is that Bridget Divers was a woman who was beloved by the soldiers for her bravery and her dedication to caring for them during the Civil War.

Sources

[1] McKay, Charlotte E., Stories of Hospital and Camp, Philadelphia, Penn.: Claxton, Remson, and Haffelfinger, 1876

[2] Hannum, James S., Michigan Bridget: The Truth Behind the Legend, Wayback Machine: Internet Archive, July 2018

[3] Livermore, Mary. My Story of the War, Hartford, Conn.: 1890

[4] McKay, Charlotte E., Stories of Hospital and Camp, Philadelphia, Penn.: Claxton, Remson, and Haffelfinger, 1876

[5] Boatner, Mark M. III. The Civil War Dictionary. New York, N.Y.: David McKay Company Inc. p. 241

[6]  Moore, Frank. Women of the War. Their Heroism and Self-Sacrifice, Hartford, Conn.: S. S. Scranton and Company, 1867

[7] Civil War.com, Mrs. Bridget “Irish Biddy” Divers (Deavers).

[8] Livermore, Mary. My Story of the War, Hartford, Conn.: 1890

[9] Leonard, Elizabeth D. All the Daring of the Soldier: Women of the Civil War Armies. New York: W.W.Norton and Company, 1999.

About the Author

Tracey McIntire earned her BA in English at Rivier College in Nashua, NH. She is Lead Educator at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, site manager of the Pry House Field Hospital Museum, and an interpretive volunteer at Antietam National Battlefield. She is also an active Civil War living historian, where she portrays a woman soldier in various guises