# Did opposing generals in a war really dine together at nite? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 26, 2014, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-opposing-generals-in-a-war-really-dine-together-at-nite/691664 "2014-06-26T02:23:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Suicide](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Suicide](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suicide)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-opposing-generals-in-a-war-really-dine-together-at-nite/691664/1 "2014-06-26T02:23:37Z")
I saw a show that said during the American Revolutionary War all battle ceased from sundown to sunup because there were no lites, electricity, etc…this was like an unofficial ceasefire every nite…and that it wasn’t uncommon for opposing generals to have dinner together at one or the other’s place and discuss the day’s events of the war, like at night Gen. Washington and Gen. Cornwallis broke bread, shared win and traded stories? is this accurate? and are there any other wars in history where this happened? i find it hard to beleive gen. grant and gen. lee had a beer and cigars together after hours :eek::eek::eek: ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-opposing-generals-in-a-war-really-dine-together-at-nite/691664/2 "2014-06-26T02:28:57Z")
What show? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-opposing-generals-in-a-war-really-dine-together-at-nite/691664/3 "2014-06-26T03:00:58Z")
I was taught in Junior High School history class that they did indeed conduct wars, in those days, during daylight hours, from some more-or-less agreed-upon time each morning until tea-time, whereafter they all repaired to their camps for the evening repast and the night’s repose. How businesslike and gentlemanly of them in those days. I never heard of opposing warriors taking tea together. You must be thinking of lawyers. ---
**Author:** ![Suicide](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Suicide](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suicide)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-opposing-generals-in-a-war-really-dine-together-at-nite/691664/4 "2014-06-26T03:49:03Z")
some show on a history cable channel ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-opposing-generals-in-a-war-really-dine-together-at-nite/691664/5 "2014-06-26T03:56:54Z")
In the AMC Revolutionary War series _Turn_ there was one scene where the revolutionaries had captured an enemy officer (not a general) and treated him like a common prisoner. When their commanding officer found out about this he ordered the officer freed from where he was being held and had a leisurely dinner with him. The commander threatened to have the soldier responsible disciplined. Of course, the prisoner was not free to go and had to hang around the officer’s quarters until the next morning to be transported wherever. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-opposing-generals-in-a-war-really-dine-together-at-nite/691664/6 "2014-06-26T04:06:42Z")
Do you know about the Christmas truce in World War I?: > **[Christmas truce](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce)** > > 1915 > 1916 > 1917 ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-opposing-generals-in-a-war-really-dine-together-at-nite/691664/7 "2014-06-26T04:54:14Z")
In an old article by [Daniel Boorstin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_J._Boorstin) I read years ago, he mentions that in the 16th-17th centuries it was very common for officers to entertain each other between battles. Why? Part of it was the differences between enlisted and officers. Enlisted soldiers were a mix of mercenaries and criminals whose choices were fighting or prison. They rarely were told by their officers why they were fighting, and it was common for only the highest government circles to know anyway. Wars were less conflicts between countries, but more sporting contest between political elites that formed the officer class. They weren’t fights to the death for national existence between nations the way the Civil War or the World Wars were. Plus the weapons of that age were far more vulnerable to weather conditions than modern weapons. Flintlocks were difficult at best to operate in rainy or even damp weather, so it was common to wait out rainy stretches. So if you’re sitting around for days knowing your opponent can’t attack, and the war is more adventure than anything else, why not whittle away time with parties? ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-opposing-generals-in-a-war-really-dine-together-at-nite/691664/8 "2014-06-26T05:09:36Z")
> [@Suicide](#): > > I saw a show that said during the American Revolutionary War … gen. grant and gen. lee had a beer and cigars together after hours Lee and Grant fought in the US _civil_ war. ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-opposing-generals-in-a-war-really-dine-together-at-nite/691664/9 "2014-06-26T08:51:05Z")
I have never heard of this. Last I checked, Cornwallis and Washington never met during the war. They might have known each other before the war. Even when Cornwallis had the opportunity to meet Washington face-to-face when the British surrendered at Yorktown, he specifically declined to do so. Grant and Lee certainly knew each other, but IIRC they hadn’t seen each other for years. Certainly they didn’t meet during the war, and I can’t think of a circumstance where they would even have the opportunity. (Unless they got really, really bored at Vicksburg.) What DID happen was Grant and Lee met at Appomattox and spent a great deal of time hanging out together and bullshitting… But Grant had come to accept Lee’s surrender so you can’t really say they met during hostilities. Keep in mind, however, that in the AWI and ACW conflicts many Generals knew each other. In many cases they had attended academies or participated in campaigns together, before their differences drove them apart. It is entirely plausible that they would have been cordial before or after the war, and certainly plausible that they might have dined with an opposing commander who had surrendered or been captured. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-opposing-generals-in-a-war-really-dine-together-at-nite/691664/10 "2014-06-26T09:26:11Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > I have never heard of this. Last I checked, Cornwallis and Washington never met during the war. They might have known each other before the war. I don’t think they had ever met. Washington never traveled to Europe and from what I can find Cornwallis had never been to America before 1776. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-opposing-generals-in-a-war-really-dine-together-at-nite/691664/11 "2014-06-26T11:09:34Z")
In the 18th and 19th centuries, captured officers would be shown every courtesy and dinner was quite likely if there was no actual battle going on. It was partly good manners, and partly self interest; because the tables may well be turned and both sides wanted to be treated well after capture. It was also normal to exchange captured officers after a battle. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-opposing-generals-in-a-war-really-dine-together-at-nite/691664/12 "2014-06-26T15:42:10Z")
The closest to the OP’s description I heard of was that General Howe’s _dog_ was somehow scooped up by the American forces and when General Washington heard about it, had the pup escorted under flag of truce to the British lines. I don’t think Washington took the dog in person or anything, though. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-opposing-generals-in-a-war-really-dine-together-at-nite/691664/13 "2014-06-26T15:52:06Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > In the 18th and 19th centuries, captured officers would be shown every courtesy and dinner was quite likely if there was no actual battle going on. It was partly good manners, and partly self interest; because the tables may well be turned and both sides wanted to be treated well after capture. > > It was also normal to exchange captured officers after a battle. If I’m to believe OBrien and Forester, officers would also be released if they’d simply promise to stay out of the war, on their honor as gentlemen. There’s a term for it but I can’t remember it. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-opposing-generals-in-a-war-really-dine-together-at-nite/691664/14 "2014-06-26T15:53:45Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > If I’m to believe OBrien and Forester, officers would also be released if they’d simply promise to stay out of the war, on their honor as gentlemen. There’s a term for it but I can’t remember it. Parole. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-opposing-generals-in-a-war-really-dine-together-at-nite/691664/15 "2014-06-26T15:54:50Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > If I’m to believe OBrien and Forester, officers would also be released if they’d simply promise to stay out of the war, on their honor as gentlemen. There’s a term for it but I can’t remember it. They gave their parole. > **[Parole](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parole#Prisoners_of_war)** > > Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or else they may be rearrested and returned to prison. Originating from the French word parole ('speech, spoken words' but also 'promise'), the term became associated during the Middle Ages with the release of prisoners who gave their word. This d... ---
**Author:** ![Suicide](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Suicide](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suicide)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-opposing-generals-in-a-war-really-dine-together-at-nite/691664/16 "2014-06-26T16:24:35Z")
i dont think hitler and fdr would have gotten along ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-opposing-generals-in-a-war-really-dine-together-at-nite/691664/17 "2014-06-26T16:54:10Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I was taught in Junior High School history class that they did indeed conduct wars, in those days, during daylight hours, from some more-or-less agreed-upon time each morning until tea-time, whereafter they all repaired to their camps for the evening repast and the night’s repose. How businesslike and gentlemanly of them in those days. Well, then George Washington cheated at the battle of Trenton by getting a nighttime start on the march and river crossing. I think he lied about the cherry tree too. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-opposing-generals-in-a-war-really-dine-together-at-nite/691664/18 "2014-06-26T16:59:58Z")
Even D Day was timed for after dawn. Stumbling around in the dark is no way to fight a battle. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-opposing-generals-in-a-war-really-dine-together-at-nite/691664/19 "2014-06-26T17:32:39Z")
General Charles Lee was an ex British officer. His loyalties to the revolution were somewhat questionable. Books and documentaries claim he told his Brit captures Washington’s tactics and plans. Even the circumstances of his capture and later release has been questioned. There were reports of his dining with the Brit officers while in custody. Washington had to personally take charge of the Battle of Monmouth. Exposing our most important leader to direct enemy fire. Lee’s incompetence could have cost us our first president. > **[Charles Lee (general)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lee_%28general%29)** > > Charles Lee (6 February 1732 \[O.S. 26 January 1731\] – 2 October 1782) was a British-born American military officer who served as a general of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He also served earlier in the British Army during the Seven Years War. He sold his commission after the Seven Years War and served for a time in the Polish army of King Stanislaus II Augustus. > Lee moved to North America in 1773 and bought an estate in western Virginia. When the fighting broke ou... > [@](#): > > Although his army was supposed to join that of Washington’s in Pennsylvania, Lee set a very slow pace.[3][4] On the night of December 12, Lee and a dozen of his guard inexplicably stopped for the night at White’s Tavern in Basking Ridge, New Jersey,[1][10] some three miles from his main army.[11] The next morning, a British patrol of two dozen mounted soldiers found Lee writing letters in his dressing gown, and captured him.[1][3][4][10][11] Among the members of the British patrol was Cornet Banastre Tarleton.[11] Lee returned to service after he was exchanged for General Richard Prescott. > [@](#): > > Lee is most notorious for his actions during the Battle of Monmouth in June, 1778. Washington needed a secondary commander to lead the frontal assault. He unwillingly chose to put Lee in charge, as he was the most senior of his generals.[12] At first Lee was so reluctant to take part in the attack that Washington bestowed command onto Marquis de Lafayette;.[3][4][12] Upon this, Lee had a change of heart and requested de Lafayette to cede command which he gladly did.[3][4][12] Washington ordered him to attack the retreating enemy, but instead, Lee ordered a retreat[1][3][4][13] after only one volley of fire.[12] After seeing this, de Lafayette sent a messenger to Washington informing of this behaviour.[3][4] Lee’s troops retreated directly into Washington and his troops, who were advancing, and Washington dressed him down publicly.[3][4][12] Lee responded with insubordination[1] for which he was arrested.[12] > > On 2 July 1778 Lee was court-martialled ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-opposing-generals-in-a-war-really-dine-together-at-nite/691664/20 "2014-06-26T17:50:10Z")
I should clarify… General Charles Lee was suspected of gossiping with his British friends at those dinners. Perhaps unintentionally revealing information about Washington’s plans. I’ve never seen any history books allege anything more than that. He was a thorn in Washington’s backside. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-opposing-generals-in-a-war-really-dine-together-at-nite/691664.md?page=2)