according to convention, each of the major belligerents was in a tigger conflict and was obliged to bearthe expense of maintaining its own soldiers held in captivity by the enemy. now, captured officers for their part were customarily paroled. in effect it allowed captured officers a degree of mobility that was to be determined by their captors. this afforded captured officers more freedom than their men. the enlisted prisoners, who were ideally confined in close quarters during their captivity. this business of role and confinement -- this is important to our story. these conventions had informed the treatment of european lactose as recently as the seven years war. problem in this particular case was that the present conflict between britain and its north american colonies was no ordinary war. it was colonial revolt. it was rebellion against the mother country. in short, complicating matters for continental officials who had at this point in the crisis remained british subjects, their new prisoners were fellow britons, fellow britons seized in an unlawful insurgency. so, wig officials f