Major: General Lord Cornwallis will be with you shortly.

General: Jupiter! Mars! Come, boys, come! My good boys, my brave boys, and you seem to be well-fed. I thank you for that… I’m afraid I don’t know your name.

Martin: I’m a colonel with the Continental Army. My rank should be sufficient for now.

General: As you wish. Please be seated.

Martin: Thank you.

General: Would you, as the initiating officer, care to begin?

Martin: I will, unless of course you’d like to claim aggrieved status.

General: Yes, I would like to claim aggrieved status.

Martin: Very well, sir. Proceed.

General: You have in your possession certain belongings of mine including clothing, furniture, personal effects of a non-military nature which I’d like to have returned to me.

Martin: Indeed. I will do so as soon as possible.

General: Thank you… Now we come to the matter of the specific targeting of officers during engagements. As a colonel, you must know that in civilized warfare, officers in the field must not be accorded inappropriate levels of hostile attention.

Martin: To your mind, what are appropriate levels of hostile attention?

General: Oh, colonel, imagine the utter chaos that would follow leaderless armies having at each other. There must be gentlemen in command to lead and, where necessary, restrain their men.

Martin: Restraining them from, say, targeting civilians, women, children and such…?

General: That is a separate issue.

Martin: No, no, I consider them linked… and as long as your soldiers attack civilians, I will order the shooting of officers at the outset of every engagement… And my men are excellent marksmen.