The Pig War of 1859: How a Shot Farm Animal Almost Triggered an Anglo-American War

The annals of military history are replete with conflicts ignited by territorial ambition, dynastic rivalries, and economic jealousy. Yet, one of the most bizarre and potentially catastrophic confrontations in Anglo-American relations was sparked not by grand imperial designs, but by a single, hungry farm animal. The Pig War of 1859, played out on the remote shores of San Juan Island, stands as a testament to how easily ambiguous treaties can lead to military brinkmanship, and how local level-headedness can avert global catastrophe.

The Spark: A Potato Patch and a Hungry Boar

By the mid-19th century, San Juan Island, situated between Vancouver Island and the Washington Territory mainland, was a disputed paradise. Both the United States and Great Britain claimed sovereignty over the archipelago. On June 15, 1859, this geopolitical ambiguity culminated in a domestic dispute.

Lyman Cutlar, an American farmer who had settled on the island under the pretense of US preemption claims, discovered a large black pig rooting in his potato patch. This was not the first time the animal had raided his crops. In a fit of frustration, Cutlar leveled his rifle and shot the pig dead. The animal belonged to Charles Griffin, an Englishman who managed the Hudson's Bay Company's Belle Vue Sheep Farm on the island.

When Cutlar offered a modest ten dollars in compensation, Griffin indignantly demanded one hundred. The confrontation quickly deteriorated from a neighborly dispute into a matter of national sovereignty. Griffin threatened to have Cutlar arrested under British law, prompting Cutlar to seek protection from the United States military.

The Geopolitical Fault Line: The Oregon Treaty Loophole

To understand why a dead pig threatened to ignite a war between two global empires, one must examine the Oregon Treaty of 1846. The treaty aimed to resolve the long-standing Oregon boundary dispute by establishing the border along the 49th parallel to the middle of the channel separating the continent from Vancouver Island, and thence southerly through the middle of the said channel, and of Fuca's Straits, to the Pacific Ocean.

Unfortunately, the negotiators possessed flawed geographical data. There were actually two major channels running through the Gulf Islands and San Juan Islands:

• Haro Strait: Located to the west of San Juan Island, favored by the United States as it placed the island under American sovereignty.
• Rosario Strait: Located to the east of San Juan Island, favored by Great Britain as it secured the island for the British Empire.

For thirteen years, both nations maintained a uneasy joint occupancy of the island, with American homesteaders and British sheep farmers living side-by-side in a legal vacuum. Cutlar's gunshot ruptured this fragile peace.

Escalation on the Frontier: Bayonets and Warships

In response to Cutlar's plea for protection, Brigadier General William S. Harney, commander of the Department of Oregon and a known anti-British hawk, dispatched 66 soldiers of the US 9th Infantry under the command of Captain George Pickett (who would later gain fame in the American Civil War). Pickett landed on July 27, 1859, and established a military camp near the Hudson's Bay Company wharf.

The British response was swift and overwhelming. James Douglas, the Governor of British Columbia, viewed Pickett's landing as an invasion of British territory. He dispatched three British warships under Captain Geoffrey Phipps Hornby to intimidate the American garrison. By August, the situation had escalated dramatically:

The Disproportionate Forces of San Juan Island

• The United States: Approximately 461 soldiers armed with artillery, entrenched in earthworks under the command of Captain Pickett.
• Great Britain: Five Royal Navy warships carrying over 2,100 men and mounting 167 cannons, anchored just offshore.

Despite the overwhelming British superiority, Pickett refused to back down, famously declaring that he would make a second Bunker Hill of it. Governor Douglas ordered Captain Hornby to land marines and dislodge the Americans. However, Hornby, exhibiting remarkable diplomatic maturity, refused the order, stating that he would not initiate a war over a dispute about a pig.

The Voice of Reason: Averting Disaster

"To force two great nations into a war over a squabble about a pig is foolish and unjustifiable."

These words, attributed to Rear Admiral Robert L. Baynes, Commander-in-Chief of the British Pacific Station, echoed the sentiments of cooler heads in London and Washington. When news of the standoff finally reached US President James Buchanan and British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston, both governments were horrified by the prospect of a costly war over an insignificant island.

President Buchanan dispatched General Winfield Scott, the venerable hero of the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War, to defuse the situation. Scott arrived in the Pacific Northwest in October 1859 and immediately opened negotiations with Governor Douglas. The two seasoned administrators agreed to scale back the military presence. Both nations would maintain a joint military occupation of San Juan Island, limited to 100 men each, until a formal diplomatic solution could be reached.

The Legacy of the Pig War

The joint occupation persisted peacefully for twelve years. The American garrison remained at the southern end of the island, while the British Royal Marines established a camp at the northern end. The soldiers and marines famously socialized, held athletic competitions, and celebrated each other's national holidays, creating an island of tranquility during the tumultuous years of the American Civil War.

In 1871, the two nations signed the Treaty of Washington, which referred the San Juan boundary dispute to an international arbitration commission led by Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany. In October 1872, the commission ruled in favor of the United States, designating the Haro Strait as the official boundary. By late 1872, British troops peacefully withdrew, and the Pig War officially concluded with only one casualty: the original trespassing boar.

Today, San Juan Island National Historical Park preserves both the English and American camps. It remains one of the few places in the world where the national flags of both the United States and Great Britain are raised together by park rangers, serving as a monument to peace, restraint, and the triumph of diplomacy over militarism.