Sentence:  Early in the <WSD>war</WSD> it was not uncommon for planters ' sons to retain in camp Negro `` body servants '' to perform the menial chores such as cooking , foraging , cleaning the quarters , shining shoes , and laundering clothes . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  a legal state created by a declaration of war and ended by official declaration during which the international rules of war apply