Nigel Hamilton "Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents"

Biographers in Conversation · Jun 18, 2026 · 47m

In this episode of Biographers in Conversation, Dr Nigel Hamilton chats with Dr Gabriella Kelly-Davies about Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents.

Here’s what you’ll discover in this episode:

Lincoln vs. Davis is the first dual biography to examine how Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis fought each other as presidents and commanders-in-chief of their respective forces, the Union and the Confederacy, during the American Civil War.

Lincoln and Davis coincidentally began train journeys to their Presidential inaugurations on the same day.

By framing emancipation as a military order…