Jeremy Neely Archives - Reynolds College Blog

American history with a global context

Chronologically, HST 315’s topics start with America’s colonial period and usually ends in the early 21st century, according to Neely.

“The course covers as much as I can squeeze into 15 weeks,” he said. “We cover a lot of ground, which unfortunately means that we don’t linger on any particular period for very long. Some events are more consequential than others, of course, so we do spend a bit more time on watershed events like the American Revolution and the Civil War.”

Even with the focus on American military history, the class still places that history within a global framework. American leaders have always been aware of the country’s position on the world stage, even during periods of isolationism, Neely noted. As an example, the Philippine-American conflict (1899-1902) was the topic during one class session.

“One of the recent turns in historiography is an effort to frame the American past within a wider global context,” Neely explained. “I’ve tried to help students see that you can’t understand the history of the United States without a sense of where it fits within the world around it.”

Associate professor Dr. Jeremy Neely of Missouri State University’s Department of History has published a new book centered around the U.S. Civil War.

In “A Union Tested,” Neely examines the lives of Henry and Cimbaline Fike through hundreds of letters they exchanged between 1862 and 1865 while Henry was a quartermaster in the Union army.

“Dr. Neely is a foremost expert on the border war between Kansas and Missouri,” said Dr. Kathleen Kennedy, head of the history department. “This study represents an extension of his work into how the Civil War affected families and individuals as they negotiated the divisions of war.”

Historical serendipity leads to the Fikes

Book cover — Click book cover image to learn more.

Neely was researching another book project on Missouri during the Reconstruction era when he encountered Henry Fike’s diary. He described the diary as “massive,” as it dates from the 1850s until 1919.

“He was such a prolific writer that I wondered if he had any other papers, and it turned out that, yes, he did,” Neely said. While serving as a Union soldier, Fike exchanged nearly 400 letters with his wife, Cimbaline.

“Their exchanges pulled me in almost instantly,” Neely said.

“The war demanded tremendous sacrifices of men and women alike,” he said. “Many volunteers, including Henry, signed up for three-year enlistments, and those lengthy deployments placed enormous strains upon families. Navigating those challenges was a constant and often fraught process.”

Expansive research “fleshes out” personalities

Neely started researching the Fikes in 2020 and ended up spending roughly four years on the project.

The process could have grown cumbersome, as the Fikes’ papers are split between two libraries. Henry’s diaries are held at the State Historical Society of Missouri, while his and Cimbaline’s letters are located at the University of Kansas. In addition, several diaries and letters from Henry’s comrades are at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Illinois.

Neely was able to continue and broaden his research through a summer fellowship. He used the opportunity to examine newspapers, military records and private manuscripts to “flesh out the Fikes’ world more clearly,” he said.

Cimbaline’s and Henry’s personalities immediately emerged from the letters.

“Cimabline was strong and fearless in speaking her mind, but she also struggled with loneliness and what we today would recognize as depression,” he explained. “Henry was confident, loyal and enthusiastic. Together, they were ardent supporters of the Union war effort and had no patience for neighbors who failed to match their devotion.”