Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
- Messages
- 9,001
The "Pig War"...
Today I have one of those little obscure conflicts for you, which is officially called "Northwestern Boundary Dispute", but went down in history as the "Pig War"!
In 1859, the United States and Canada, part of the United Kingdom, quarreled extremely fiercely over some small islands in the middle of the canal that separates the continent from Vancouver Island and in the middle of the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Pacific Ocean ...:
Both sides claim the islands for themselves, with the USA insisting on the border line along the blue line, Great Britain along the red line ...:
The islands are populated by Americans and Canadians together - and conflicts are mounting!
The dispute escalated on June 15, 1859!
On this day the American farmer Lyman Cutlar shoots a strange pig on San Juan Island that has entered his fenced potato field and devastated it by digging up the potatoes planted there and eating it with relish ...:
As it turns out afterwards, the pig belongs to a Canadian (British subject) named Charles J. Griffin, who also works for the "Hudson's Bay" trading company, which is not only an institution in Canada, but also very powerful.
A memorable dialogue ensues between Cutlar and Griffin that has also gone down in history:
Cutlar: "Keep your pigs out of my potatoes!"
Griffin (who must have been a quick-witted man) replies: "Keep your potatoes out of my pigs!"
While the two are still fighting over compensation (Cutlar offers ten US dollars, Griffin demands 100!) The remaining settlers are mobilizing!
Both sides loudly call for protection from the other side and demand the use of the military. The press is making a big story out of the dead pig - and indeed, both the British and the Americans are putting troops on the march!
After all, 461 Americans of the 9th US Infantry Regiment are standing on the islands with 14 field cannons and eight 32 pounders of naval guns ...
... under the command of Major Silas Casey (the picture shows him later as General during the American Civil War) ...
... and thee British warships...
... with about 250 soldiers (but far more cannons than the Americans) ...
... under the command of Captain Geoffrey Hornby ...
...across from.
By the way, on the American side there is a young lieutenant named George Edward Pickett ...
... who served as a Confederate Brigadier General during the US Civil War ...
... and will become famous during the Battle of Gettysburg ("Pickett's Charge").
The saber is rattled a lot - but both local commanders are sensible enough to set up their camps as far apart as possible on the largest island of San Juan ...
... and not to shoot at each other, although this is exactly what - and the further away, the louder! - loud demands are made on both sides!
This goes on for a quarter of a year.
US President James Buchanan ...
... finally sends his army commander in chief General Winfield Scott ...
... in September 1859 to San Juan Island to meet with the British Governor James Douglas ...
... solve the crisis.
Both sides finally agree to maintain the joint military occupation of the islands, albeit to a reduced extent.
It will stay that way until 1872. Then the two countries will conclude a treaty with each other, through which the islands will become the territory of the United States and the British will withdraw.
And so the potato-loving British-Canadian bristle cattle remains the only victim of the conflict, which it also gave its name to ...!
Today I have one of those little obscure conflicts for you, which is officially called "Northwestern Boundary Dispute", but went down in history as the "Pig War"!
In 1859, the United States and Canada, part of the United Kingdom, quarreled extremely fiercely over some small islands in the middle of the canal that separates the continent from Vancouver Island and in the middle of the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Pacific Ocean ...:
Both sides claim the islands for themselves, with the USA insisting on the border line along the blue line, Great Britain along the red line ...:
The islands are populated by Americans and Canadians together - and conflicts are mounting!
The dispute escalated on June 15, 1859!
On this day the American farmer Lyman Cutlar shoots a strange pig on San Juan Island that has entered his fenced potato field and devastated it by digging up the potatoes planted there and eating it with relish ...:
As it turns out afterwards, the pig belongs to a Canadian (British subject) named Charles J. Griffin, who also works for the "Hudson's Bay" trading company, which is not only an institution in Canada, but also very powerful.
A memorable dialogue ensues between Cutlar and Griffin that has also gone down in history:
Cutlar: "Keep your pigs out of my potatoes!"
Griffin (who must have been a quick-witted man) replies: "Keep your potatoes out of my pigs!"
While the two are still fighting over compensation (Cutlar offers ten US dollars, Griffin demands 100!) The remaining settlers are mobilizing!
Both sides loudly call for protection from the other side and demand the use of the military. The press is making a big story out of the dead pig - and indeed, both the British and the Americans are putting troops on the march!
After all, 461 Americans of the 9th US Infantry Regiment are standing on the islands with 14 field cannons and eight 32 pounders of naval guns ...
... under the command of Major Silas Casey (the picture shows him later as General during the American Civil War) ...
... and thee British warships...
... with about 250 soldiers (but far more cannons than the Americans) ...
... under the command of Captain Geoffrey Hornby ...
...across from.
By the way, on the American side there is a young lieutenant named George Edward Pickett ...
... who served as a Confederate Brigadier General during the US Civil War ...
... and will become famous during the Battle of Gettysburg ("Pickett's Charge").
The saber is rattled a lot - but both local commanders are sensible enough to set up their camps as far apart as possible on the largest island of San Juan ...
... and not to shoot at each other, although this is exactly what - and the further away, the louder! - loud demands are made on both sides!
This goes on for a quarter of a year.
US President James Buchanan ...
... finally sends his army commander in chief General Winfield Scott ...
... in September 1859 to San Juan Island to meet with the British Governor James Douglas ...
... solve the crisis.
Both sides finally agree to maintain the joint military occupation of the islands, albeit to a reduced extent.
It will stay that way until 1872. Then the two countries will conclude a treaty with each other, through which the islands will become the territory of the United States and the British will withdraw.
And so the potato-loving British-Canadian bristle cattle remains the only victim of the conflict, which it also gave its name to ...!
