Pig War (1859)

The Ambiguous Border of the Oregon Treaty

The roots of the Pig War lay in the ambiguous wording of the Oregon Treaty of June 15, 1846. This treaty established the boundary between U.S. and British territories west of the Rocky Mountains along the 49th parallel, then south through "the middle of the channel" separating Vancouver Island from the continent. The geographical problem was that two major straits existed: Haro Strait, west of the San Juan Islands, and Rosario Strait, to their east. Both nations could plausibly claim either channel as the intended boundary, leading to competing sovereignty claims over the islands in between. From 1856 to 1857, a joint Boundary Commission attempted to resolve the issue, with the British appointing James Charles Prevost as First Commissioner and the Americans appointing Archibald Campbell. The commission met several times aboard ships in Esquimalt and Nanaimo harbours, debating the issue from October to December 1857. Prevost argued the treaty framers intended Rosario Strait, as it was the only channel that was navigable, ran southerly, and truly separated the continent from Vancouver Island. Campbell countered that Haro Strait was the wider, more direct passage and that "southerly" was meant in a general sense. The negotiations ended in deadlock, with a British compromise offer to draw a line through San Juan Channel, giving the U.S. most islands except San Juan itself, being rejected. This unresolved ambiguity set the stage for conflict, as both American settlers and British commercial interests moved onto the disputed San Juan Island.

Settlement, Strategic Value, and Rising Tensions

During the period of disputed sovereignty, British interests established a significant economic and strategic presence on San Juan Island. The Hudson's Bay Company, based at Fort Victoria, had claimed the island as early as 1845 and established salmon-curing stations by 1851. In December 1853, politically motivated to reinforce the British claim, the HBC founded the highly profitable Belle Vue Sheep Farm on the island's southern shore, with the flock growing from 1,369 to over 4,500 sheep in six years. The island held great military significance, as whichever nation controlled it could dominate the straits connecting the Strait of Juan de Fuca with the Strait of Georgia. Meanwhile, reports of the island's fertile soil from Northwest Boundary Survey naturalists attracted American settlers, who began arriving under the U.S. Donation Land Claim Act of 1850. By spring 1859, about 18 Americans had staked claims on prime HBC grazing lands, expecting U.S. government recognition. The British colonial authorities on Vancouver Island, led by Governor James Douglas, viewed these Americans as illegal squatters and trespassers. This clash of settlement, economic interests, and strategic imperatives created a tinderbox of mutual resentment and legal confusion, with tempers growing shorter by the day.

The Pig Incident and Its Immediate Aftermath

The immediate crisis began on June 15, 1859, the thirteenth anniversary of the Oregon Treaty. American farmer Lyman Cutlar, who had moved to San Juan Island from Kentucky under the Donation Land Claim Act, found a large black Berkshire boar rooting in his garden and eating his potatoes. The pig belonged to Charles Griffin, an Irishman employed by the Hudson's Bay Company to manage its sheep ranch, who allowed his pigs to roam freely. This was not the first such intrusion. An exasperated Cutlar shot and killed the pig. When confronted, Cutlar offered Griffin ten dollars in compensation, but Griffin demanded one hundred dollars. Cutlar then refused to pay anything, arguing the pig had been trespassing on his land. One apocryphal account has Griffin retorting, "It is up to you to keep your potatoes out of my pig." British authorities threatened to arrest Cutlar and evict all American settlers from the island. Fearing this, the American community on the island appealed for military protection from the U.S. Army commander in the region, the notoriously anti-British Brigadier General William S. Harney, who commanded the Department of Oregon.

Military Buildup, Bluster, and the Refusal to Fight

General Harney responded decisively on July 27, 1859, ordering Captain George Pickett and 66 soldiers of the 9th U.S. Infantry to San Juan Island aboard the steamer warship USS Massachusetts, with instructions to prevent any British landings. Pickett established a camp near the HBC wharf on Griffin Bay, north of Belle Vue Sheep Farm, and initially sited his cannon battery directly under the guns of the British warship HMS Satellite, a tactical error he later corrected by moving to higher ground. The fortifications, known as Robert's Redoubt, were built under the supervision of Second Lieutenant Henry Martyn Robert. Governor James Douglas, angered by this occupation, ordered Royal Navy Captain Geoffrey Phipps Hornby, commanding the 31-gun steam frigate HMS Tribune, to dislodge Pickett but avoid an armed clash. Hornby was soon joined by HMS Satellite and HMS Plumper, creating a formidable naval flotilla. Pickett famously vowed to "make a Bunker Hill of it. However, Hornby wisely refused to attack, awaiting his superior, Rear Admiral Robert L. Baynes, commander of British naval forces in the Pacific. When Baynes arrived on the 84-gun ship of the line HMS Ganges, he was appalled and firmly told Governor Douglas he would not "involve two great nations in a war over a squabble about a pig.

Political Context and Theories of Conspiracy

The Pig War occurred against a backdrop of rising sectional tensions within the United States that would soon erupt into the American Civil War. Some contemporary theories suggested the crisis was not entirely accidental. Future Union General-in-Chief George B. McClellan, a friend of George Pickett, later claimed that General Harney and Pickett conspired to start a war with Britain to create a common enemy and head off the north-south confrontation. Another theory, posited by General Granville O. Haller, suggested they hoped a foreign war would distract the North and allow the South to secede. These theories gained some credence from the unusual military chain of command, where the higher-ranked Lieutenant Colonel Silas Casey was placed in a support role for the lower-ranked Captain Pickett, who was given independent jurisdiction over the area by Harney. However, Casey was also given command of the USS Massachusetts and tasked with protecting Puget Sound waters. The precise motivations remain debated, but the U.S. government's swift move to de-escalate suggests the crisis was an unwelcome complication for President James Buchanan's administration, which was desperately trying to hold the union together.

Diplomatic Intervention and the Joint Occupation Agreement

Alarmed by the potential for an international war, officials in Washington and London moved quickly to defuse the situation. U.S. President James Buchanan dispatched the nation's top soldier, the venerable General Winfield Scott, who had calmed two other U.S.-British border crises in the 1830s. Scott arrived in the San Juans in October 1859 and negotiated directly with Governor Douglas on Vancouver Island. The resulting agreement established a joint military occupation of San Juan Island. Each nation would maintain a token force of no more than 100 men on opposite ends of the island. The British camp was situated on the north coast for easy naval resupply, while the American camp occupied a high, windswept meadow on the south end, suitable for artillery barrages against shipping. This arrangement defused the immediate crisis and began a remarkably peaceful twelve-year period of shared military presence. The British and American troops frequently socialized, visiting each other's camps to celebrate national holidays like the Fourth of July and Queen Victoria's birthday, and holding athletic competitions. Park rangers later noted the greatest threat to peace during this era was "the large amounts of alcohol available" to the soldiers.

Path to Arbitration and the Final Decision

The joint occupation persisted for over a decade while diplomatic efforts sought a permanent resolution. During this time, the colonial map changed, with the Colony of Vancouver Island merging with the Colony of British Columbia in 1866, and that enlarged colony joining the new Dominion of Canada in 1871. The opportunity for a final settlement came with the signing of the comprehensive Treaty of Washington in 1871 between the United States and the United Kingdom. This treaty dealt with various differences, including border issues involving Canada, and stipulated that the San Juan boundary question would be settled by international arbitration. German Emperor Wilhelm I was chosen as the arbitrator. He referred the matter to a three-member arbitration commission, which met in Geneva for nearly a year. The American case was presented by the esteemed historian and former Secretary of the Navy, George Bancroft. On October 21, 1872, the arbitration commission ruled in favour of the United States, selecting the Haro Strait boundary west of the islands as the legitimate line under the 1846 treaty, over the British preference for the Rosario Strait. This decision awarded the entire San Juan archipelago to the United States. The British Royal Marines withdrew from their camp on November 25, 1872, and the American forces departed by July 1874, finally ending the long dispute.

Key Personalities and Their Later Careers

Several figures involved in the Pig War later gained significant prominence in other conflicts, particularly the American Civil War. Captain George Pickett, the Virginian who led the initial American landing and defiance, later became a Confederate major general, infamous for leading the disastrous Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863. The American fortifications on San Juan were built under the supervision of Second Lieutenant Henry Martyn Robert, who later authored the definitive guide to parliamentary procedure, Robert's Rules of Order, in 1876 and served as a general in the Union Army of the Potomac. On the British side, Captain Geoffrey Hornby, who commanded the initial naval flotilla with restraint, later rose to become Admiral of the Fleet, the highest rank in the Royal Navy, and earned a reputation as a pre-eminent 19th-century tactician. The ordinary settlers, Lyman Cutlar and Charles Griffin, whose quarrel over a pig started the crisis, faded from the historical spotlight after their brief moment of infamy.

Historical Significance and Modern Commemoration

The Pig War holds profound significance as the last major military confrontation between the United States and the British Empire in North America. It demonstrated a mutual, albeit sometimes reluctant, desire to resolve serious border disputes through diplomacy and arbitration rather than war, setting a vital precedent for peaceful conflict resolution. For the emerging Dominion of Canada, the event underscored the importance of clearly defined international boundaries and the complex role of imperial Britain in defending colonial interests on the eve of Confederation. The peaceful twelve-year joint occupation also serves as a unique and often overlooked example of military coexistence and camaraderie between potential adversaries. Today, the event is comprehensively commemorated at the San Juan Island National Historical Park in Washington State. The park preserves both the American and British camp sites, with the Union Jack still raised and lowered daily by U.S. National Park Service rangers at the former British camp, a rare commemorative act. The preserved fortifications, including the excellent example of Robert's Redoubt, offer a tangible connection to this curious and nearly bloodless chapter in North American history, reminding visitors how a single pig nearly altered the map.

Questions about Pig War (1859)

What caused the Pig War?

The Pig War was triggered on June 15, 1859, when American settler Lyman Cutlar shot and killed a pig that was rooting in his garden on San Juan Island. The pig was owned by Charles Griffin, an employee of the British Hudson's Bay Company. This local dispute escalated because it occurred within a larger, unresolved boundary ambiguity from the 1846 Oregon Treaty, which left both the United States and Britain claiming sovereignty over the San Juan Islands. British threats to arrest Cutlar led American settlers to request military protection, prompting a U.S. Army deployment and a subsequent British naval response.

Were there any human casualties during the Pig War?

No, there were no human casualties during the Pig War. Despite the significant military buildup that saw hundreds of American soldiers and thousands of British sailors and marines facing each other, no shots were ever exchanged between the two forces. The only casualty was the pig that was shot at the beginning of the incident. The conflict is therefore remembered as a bloodless confrontation, with diplomacy and a joint occupation agreement preventing any armed battle from occurring.

How was the Pig War finally resolved?

The Pig War was finally resolved through international arbitration. Following the 1871 Treaty of Washington, the dispute was submitted to arbitration with German Emperor Wilhelm I as the chosen arbitrator. A three-man commission reviewed the case in Geneva and, on October 21, 1872, ruled in favour of the United States. The decision established the boundary through the Haro Strait, west of the San Juan Islands, awarding the entire archipelago to the United States. British forces withdrew in late 1872, and American forces left by 1874.

What was the role of Canada in the Pig War?

At the time of the Pig War in 1859, Canada was not yet a confederated nation. The British interests in the dispute were represented by the colonial governments of Vancouver Island and British Columbia, and by the British Royal Navy and Army. The Hudson's Bay Company, a British-chartered company operating in the region, was a central player. The outcome of the arbitration in 1872 directly affected the future Dominion of Canada's western boundary. When the islands were awarded to the United States, it defined part of the maritime border between what would become the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington.

Where can I learn more about the Pig War today?

The primary site to learn about the Pig War is the San Juan Island National Historical Park in Washington State. The park preserves the original American and British military camps, including fortifications and interpretive exhibits. Visitors can see where the soldiers lived during the joint occupation. The park's rangers conduct historical demonstrations, and the British camp site features a flagpole where the Union Jack is raised daily in a commemorative ceremony. Numerous history books and online resources from the U.S. National Park Service also provide detailed accounts of the dispute and its resolution.

Sources: Wikipedia and current public reporting, checked by the Nosy Mag desk. Last updated 2026-10-19.