Considered unfit for
service, because she was female, as a nurse when she offered to go with the
First Michigan Cavalry, Bridget Divers refused to take “no” for an answer.
Purchasing a small supply of staple goods, she accompanied the unit as a
vivandiere, somewhat like “a female sutler.” While with the regiment she served
in the roles as nurse, hospital steward, ward master and even surgeon. She had
three horses killed under her in actual battle, and lost ten in various ways
throughout the course of the war.
Near Dinwiddie Court
House, the First Michigan was involved in a hot skirmish with Confederate
cavalry and one of the captains of the regiment was killed. Bridget knew that
the captain had fallen, and when the regiment was driven from the field, she
determined to retrieve his body. Riding alone into the midst of the gray
troopers, she quickly placed the body on her horse and rode off to the
amazement of the Confederates. After a twelve-mile ride, Bridget caught up with
the rest of the regiment and delivered the corpse for proper burial.
Little or nothing is
known about the man she followed to war, but Bridget liked military life so
well that she remained with the U.S. Army as a laundress after the end of
hostilities. Hundreds of soldiers knew Divers’ wife simply as “Irish Biddy,”
and a smaller number persisted in calling her “Michigan Bridget.”
