NEW YORK—A history of fishing in the Atlantic Ocean and a close study of wartime conduct have been named winners of the prestigious Bancroft Prize.

Columbia University announced Monday that the winners were W. Jeffrey Bolster's "The Mortal Sea: Fishing the Atlantic in the Age of Sail" and John Fabian Witt's "Lincoln's Code: The Laws of War in American History." Each author will receive $10,000 for one of the most coveted awards among historians.

The winning books were chosen from 223 submissions.

The Bancroft Prize was established in 1948 and is administered by Columbia. Previous winners include Eric Foner's "The Fiery Trial" and Sean Wilentz's "The Rise of American Democracy."