Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis and the Emancipation Proclamation

We recently interviewed historian Nigel Hamilton about his book, Lincoln Vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents. The focus of his research was on the period between the presidential inaugurations and Lincoln’s issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863.

Watch Meeting

Hamilton began by recounting the journeys both men undertook on February 11, 1861, to their respective capital cities—Lincoln to Washington and Davis to the first capital of the Confederacy, Montgomery, Alabama. While Davis’s trip was uneventful aside from its symbolic significance, Lincoln faced a credible threat to his life, which he learned about during a stop in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Although Lincoln arrived safely in Washington, his arrival was marred by rumors that he had entered the capital in disguise.

Passing Through Baltimore

Soon after Lincoln and Davis assumed their offices, Lincoln concentrated on preserving the Union, while Davis focused on the establishment of a new nation which included securing foreign recognition for it. Hamilton discusses this at length, while also outlining the road to Fort Sumter, the early battles of the war, McClellan’s failed Peninsula Campaign, when he refers to McClellan as “a little twerp,” and culminates with the release of the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863.

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Photo Credit:

Adalbert John Volck. Passage through Baltimore from V. Blada’s War Sketches. Baltimore: 1864. Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (094) Digital ID # al0094.

Heard & Moseley, photographer. Watch meeting, –Waiting for the hour / Heard & Moseley, Cartes de Visite, 10 Tremont Row, Boston., ca. 1863. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/98501210/.