Bridget Diver

Who was Bridget Diver?

Bridget Divers or Michigan Bridget is a name often applied to a woman whose last name has been spelled in several ways by a series of authors who have written about her. This literature began during the Civil War, and continues to appear today. Variations of her surname include Diver, Divers, Deaver, Deavers, Devens, and Devan. Unfortunately, none of the accounts of her combat activities come from a verifiable eye-witness. Much of the literature from the middle of the 19th century is written in an idealized and highly stylized form, conforming to the standards of propriety in that era. Nonetheless, careful analysis of surviving records show Michigan Bridget to have been a real person, after removing the almost mythological language frequently used to describe her exploits.