Pig War (1859)

thumb|[[George Vancouver|Vancouver's 1798 map, showing some confusion in the vicinity of southeastern Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, and Haro Strait]]

The Pig War was a confrontation in 1859 between the United States and the United Kingdom over the British–U.S. border in the San Juan Islands, between Vancouver Island (present-day Canada) and the Washington Territory (present-day State of Washington). The Pig War, so called because it was triggered by the shooting of a pig, is also called the Pig Episode, the Pig and Potato War, the San Juan Boundary Dispute, and the Northwestern Boundary Dispute. Despite being referred to as a "war", there were no human casualties on either side.

Background

Border ambiguity

The Oregon Treaty of June 15, 1846, resolved the Oregon boundary dispute by dividing the Oregon Country/Columbia District between the United States and Britain (future Canada) "along the 49th parallel of north latitude to the middle of the channel which separates the continent from off-shore Vancouver Island, and thence southerly through the middle of the said channel, and of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the Pacific Ocean."

However, two straits could be called the middle of the channel: Haro Strait, along the west side of the off-shore San Juan Islands; and Rosario Strait, along the east side.

In 1846, there was still some uncertainty about the region's physical geography. The most commonly available maps were those of Royal Navy Captain George Vancouver, published in 1798, and of the United States Navy's Charles Wilkes, published in 1845. In both cases, the maps are unclear in the vicinity of the southeastern coast of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. As a result, Haro Strait is not fully clear either.

In 1856, the U.S. and Britain set up a Boundary Commission to resolve several issues regarding the international boundary, including the water boundary from the Strait of Georgia to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The British appointed James Charles Prevost, as First Commissioner, George Henry Richards as Second Commissioner, and William A. G. Young as Secretary. The U.S. appointed Archibald Campbell First Commissioner, John Parke, Second Commissioner, and William J. Warren Secretary. On June 27, 1857, the American and British commissioners met for the first time on board the British Royal Navy warship HMS Satellite,

Prevost held that the channel specified in the treaty must have three essential qualities:

it must separate the continent from Vancouver Island
it must carry the boundary in a southerly direction
it must be navigable

Only Rosario fulfilled these requirements, he wrote. Campbell countered that the expression "southerly", in the treaty, was to be understood in a general sense, that Rosario Strait did not separate the continent from Vancouver Island, but the San Juan Islands from Lummi Island, Cypress Island, Fidalgo Island, and others, and that navigability was not germane to the issue, but even if it was, Haro Strait was the wider and more direct passage. Finally, he challenged Prevost to produce any evidence showing that the treaty framers had intended Rosario Strait. Prevost responded to the challenge by referring to American maps showing the boundary running through Rosario Strait, including one by John C. Frémont, produced for and published by the US government, and another by John B. Preston, Surveyor General of Oregon in 1852. To the other points, Prevost repeated his statements about Rosario Strait's navigability—the channels between Lummi, Cypress, and Fidalgo islands not being navigable—and that a line through Rosario would be southerly. At the same time, one through Haro would have to be drawn westerly. The two continued to discuss the issue into December 1857, until it was clear what each side's argument was and that neither would be convinced of the other. Prevost made a final offer at the sixth meeting, on December 3. He suggested a compromise line through San Juan Channel, which would give the US all the main islands except San Juan Island. This offer was rejected and the commission adjourned, agreeing to report back to their respective governments. Thus ambiguity over the water boundary remained.

Because of this ambiguity, both the United States and Britain claimed sovereignty over the San Juan Islands. During this period of disputed sovereignty, Britain's Hudson's Bay Company established operations on San Juan and turned the island into a sheep ranch. Meanwhile, by mid-1859, twenty-five to twenty-nine American settlers had arrived. and eating his tubers. This was not the first occurrence and as a result, Cutlar, tired of the intrusion, shot and killed the pig. It turned out that the pig was owned by an Irishman, Charles Griffin, who was employed by the Hudson's Bay Company to run their sheep ranch on the island. Robert's Redoubt of 1859 on the island is considered the best-preserved fortification of its kind now in the United States. (To the east is Jackle's Lagoon, named for George Jackle, a soldier stationed at the American camp.)

The situation continued to escalate. By August 10, 1859, the enlarged detachment of 461 Americans with 14 cannons under Colonel Silas Casey were opposed by a flotilla of five British Royal Navy warships mounting 70 guns and carrying 2,140 men. This was in the best interest of the United States, as sectionalist tensions within it were rapidly increasing, soon to culminate in the American Civil War.

Wilhelm I referred the issue to a three-man arbitration commission which met in Geneva for nearly a year.

Finally on October 21, 1872, the commission decided in favor of the United States' offer.