In 1859, the U.S. and Canada went hog wild and nearly went to war…over a pig.
THE OINK HEARD ROUND THE WORLD
San Juan Island is now part of Washington State and for a while in the 19th century both England and the United States disputed who owned the land. Most of Canada was clearly defined as British, but around San Juan Island, boundaries were ill-defined. On June 15, 1859, a pig belonging to Englishman Charles Griffin of the Hudson’s Bay Company made its way into “an enemy territory”—the land of an American settler named Lyman Cutlar. Cutlar shot and killed the pig. The fuse leading to war was lit.
“It was eating my potatoes,” said Cutlar, who had already warned Griffin to keep his pig out of his potato patch.
“It is up to you to keep your potatoes out of my pig,” Griffin replied.
UP IN ARMS
Griffin reported the incident to British authorities, who threatened to arrest Cutlar. The U.S., however, sent Cutlar military protection in the form of the 9th Infantry. In response, the British sent three warships. Forces and tensions on both sides mounted. About two months after the execution of the pig, American troops numbered 461 and British forces grew to 2,140, and five warships. But by August, no guns had been fired.
In Washington, many were shocked that an international conflict might erupt over the shooting of a pig. President James Buchanan was eager to defuse the situation and sent General Winfield Scott, commanding general of the U.S. Army, to help work out the situation. Through his negotiations, tensions were eased and both sides agreed to hold fire while the issue was worked out.
Although the killing of a pig triggered the problem, the central matter was about who owned San Juan Island. For about 12 years following the incident, this question was debated but not resolved. The British and Americans finally went to a third party to resolve the dispute. On October 21, 1872, Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany declared the San Juan Islands as American property. Land north of the 49th parallel was Canadian, and to the south it was American. A month later, British troops left the area.