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A Union Tested: The Civil War Letters of Cimbaline and Henry Fike
This volume reveals how an ordinary American couple, Cimbaline and Henry Fike, wrote their way through struggles that challenged the survival of both their nation and marriage. Drawing on hundreds of letters exchanged between 1862 and 1865, A Union Tested details the lives of an Illinois homemaker and a quartermaster in the Union army and reveals how Civil War correspondence sustained relationships disrupted by war.
In his research Jeremy Neely found that such letters became an epistolary bridge that sustained families—wives and husbands, parents and children, brothers and sisters—across the years and miles that stretched between them during the tumult of war.
The Fikes’ years-long correspondence shows how a fully formed marriage reconstituted itself within the handwritten lines the couple cast across hundreds of miles. Amid the extraordinary circumstances of wartime, writing to one another prompted a remarkable degree of self-reflection and provided for each the space to learn anew about their partners, their country, and themselves.
In his research Jeremy Neely found that such letters became an epistolary bridge that sustained families—wives and husbands, parents and children, brothers and sisters—across the years and miles that stretched between them during the tumult of war.
The Fikes’ years-long correspondence shows how a fully formed marriage reconstituted itself within the handwritten lines the couple cast across hundreds of miles. Amid the extraordinary circumstances of wartime, writing to one another prompted a remarkable degree of self-reflection and provided for each the space to learn anew about their partners, their country, and themselves.
252 pages, Paperback
Published December 15, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 16, 2024
Welcome to the (print) world, Lucy and Henry.
August 29, 2025
Lucy has my heart!
The thought and care that Neely put into this collection is evident. This book engaged me, even as someone who doesn’t usually read about history. It was a reminder that folks from the past aren’t just serious, stoic figures—they’re snarky and messy and fierce and fiery, just like us.
The thought and care that Neely put into this collection is evident. This book engaged me, even as someone who doesn’t usually read about history. It was a reminder that folks from the past aren’t just serious, stoic figures—they’re snarky and messy and fierce and fiery, just like us.
January 26, 2025
Henry and Cimbaline Fike give a different view of the war than you’ll read in many history books.
For Henry, it was a battle of both boredom, missing his family while also trying to maintain a marriage despite being gone for the majority of three years.
For Cimbaline, she faced her own battles including uncovering some things about Henry.
In the end the epilogue shows they reached the goal many of us yearn for… Nothing new. Fine weather.
For Henry, it was a battle of both boredom, missing his family while also trying to maintain a marriage despite being gone for the majority of three years.
For Cimbaline, she faced her own battles including uncovering some things about Henry.
In the end the epilogue shows they reached the goal many of us yearn for… Nothing new. Fine weather.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews