The Pig and Potato WarIn 1856 the United States and Britain signed the Oregon Treaty which set the b

The Pig and Potato WarIn 1856 the United States and Britain signed the Oregon Treaty which set the boundary between the US and British Canada in the West.  Unfortunately the treaty did not clearly decide who would claim ownership of San Juan Island, a small island off the coast of Vancouver Island, the owner of which could dominate the straits leading to and from Vancouver.Despite the dispute, the British Hudson Bay Company set up a large sheep ranch on the island while at the same time Americans settled the island and began farming.  On June 15, 1859 an American farmer named Lyman Cutlar awoke to find a large pig rooting through his potato patch.  In anger Cutlar shot and killed the pig, which belonged to Hudson Bay employee Charles Griffin.  Cutlar apologized for the killing and offered $10 compensation for the pig, but Griffin demanded $100.  An argument ensued and British authorities threatened to arrest Cutlar.  The American residents of San Juan Island sent for military aid.A detachment of American soldiers under the command of Capt. George Pickett (future Confederate general famous for Pickett’s Charge) was sent to the island, while simultaneously three warships under the command of Capt. Geoffrey Hornby was sent to counter the Americans.  The next month saw a military buildup on the islands as more American soldiers, and more British warships were sent to end the standoff.  Finally the governor of Vancouver, James Douglas, ordered Royal Marines to land and push the Americans of the island.  In response, Captain Pickett fortified the high ground stating, “We’ll make a Bunker Hill of it!”Fortunately, despite being given direct orders to engage, the field commanders on both sides decided that pigs and potato’s were not worth fighting a war over, and both gave orders to only engage if fired upon.  As a result, both sides faced each other for several days, exchanging rude insults, offensive gestures, and several wisecracks about each others mothers.  Despite the onslaught of offensive behavior both sides held their discipline and held their fire.In Washington and London, officials from both sides negotiated a treaty in which the island would be ruled by joint military occupation.  Over the next 12 years the island would be occupied by both British and American soldiers, not in an atmosphere of hostility, but of jovial comradeship as both sides often fraternized, drank together, and celebrated each others holidays.  Finally in 1872 the case went to international arbitration with Kaiser Wilhelm the I of Germany acting as arbitrator.  Wilhelm would rule in favor of American ownership of the island, and military forces from both side immediately withdrew from the island concluding the Pig and Potato War.Today San Juan Island is a National Historic Park, the only place in the United States where government employees hoist the Union Jack on a daily basis. -- source link

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