"The last war fought between gentlemen"

[Garson O'Toole]

The 1950 Frank O'Connor quote is intriguing, Jon.

Regarding the footnote number 86 in "The Marble Man: Robert E. Lee and
His Image in American Society" (1977) by Thomas Connelly. I still have
not see the contents of the footnote. But the citation below probably
explains why the author Connelly connected the quote to Virginius
Dabney. A 1955 article in The Saturday Review by Dabney contained the
quote and attributed it to Churchill.

This instance matches your original query text exactly. But this cite
is a couple years after James H. Street published a slightly different
version of the quote in his book and ascribed the words to Churchill.

Cite: 1955 March 19, The Saturday Review, Appomattox: Epic Surrender
by Virginius Dabney, Saturday Review Associates, Inc., New York. (Unz)
[Begin excerpt]
Just ninety years ago, on April 9, 1865, the conflict which Winston
Churchill has called "the last war fought between gentlemen" came to
its close at Appomattox Courthouse.
[End excerpt]

Here is an earlier "war between gentlemen":

Cite: 1908, The Historians' History of the World by Henry Smith
Williams, Page 132, Hooper & Jackson, London. (Google Books full view)
http://books.google.com/books?id=-a8VAAAAYAAJ&q=joust#v=snippet&
[Begin excerpt]
In this war between gentlemen, the worst that could happen to the
beaten party was to go and take their part in the festivities of the
victors, to hunt and joust in England, and enjoy the courtesy of the
English; a noble war, doubtless, which crushed none but the villein.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Fri, Jun 22, 2012 at 12:29 PM, Jonathan Lighter
<wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "The last war fought between gentlemen"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Irrelevant? Or the source of the  legend?
>
> 1950 Frank O'Connor _Leinster, Munster and Connaught_  (London: R. Hale) 21
> [GB snippet]: Behind Whig and Tory in England was the background of a Civil
> War fought by gentlemen. Behind them in Ireland was the background of a
> Cromwellian conquest carried out with a diabolism for which there are,
> thank God, few parallels in history.
>
> Irishman O'Connor was very widely read.
> JL
>
>
> On Fri, Jun 22, 2012 at 10:13 AM, Jonathan Lighter
> <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: "The last war fought between gentlemen"
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Get ready to laugh:
>>
>> 1987 Stephen Birmingham _America's Secret Aristocracy_   (Rpt. N.Y.:
>> Berkley 1989) 47 [GB snippet]: I like to think it is because World War One
>> was the last war that was fought by gentlemen.
>>
>> Birmingham quotes the opinion from somone else.
>>
>> JL
>>
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Jun 22, 2012 at 8:38 AM, Garson O'Toole
>> <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> > -----------------------
>> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> > Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
>> > Subject:      Re: "The last war fought between gentlemen"
>> >
>> >
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> >
>> > Charles C Doyle wrote:
>> > >
>> > > There's this remarkable statement from the clueless pen of another
>> > Englishman:
>> > >
>> > > <<  I never heard of any ill-feeling between the North and South after
>> > your Civil War; but that was the cleanest and most humane war ever
>> > fought--a war between gentlemen.  >>
>> > >
>> > > From Thomas Russell, "Preparations for Peace in England," _Printers'
>> > Ink_ 104, no. 6 (8 Aug. 1918): 118.
>> > >
>> >
>> > Yes. We both found that interesting cite, Charlie. There is a similar
>> > remark from an American in the post that crossed paths with yours.
>> >
>> > The 1977 book below has a version of the quote, and it is footnoted
>> > with the number 86. I cannot read footnote 86 via the GB database. It
>> > might be useful to determine what the footnote says. Or it might be a
>> > dead end.
>> >
>> > Title: The marble man, Robert E. Lee and his image in American society
>> > Year: 1977
>> > Author: Connelly, Thomas Lawrence
>> > Published: New York : Knopf
>> > Page: 160
>> >
>> > [Begin excerpt]
>> > To Dabney, the war was also a fight for Virginia soil, and "the last
>> > war fought between gentlemen" ended at Appomattox Court House. 86
>> > [End excerpt]
>> >
>> > ------------------------------------------------------------
>> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org