San Juan Island is well known for its splendid vistas, saltwater shore, quiet woodlands, and orca whales. But it was also here, in 1859, that the United States and Great Britain nearly went to war over a dead pig. On July 18 of that year, Capt. George E. Pickett (later to lead the famous charge climaxing the Battle of Gettysburg) landed his company of 63 soldiers on the southern end of San Juan Island to protect U.S. citizens from the British government after an American settler, Lyman Cutlar, had shot a pig belonging to the British-owned Hudson’s Bay Company. What was really at stake was the possession of the entire San Juan archipelago, held in dispute between the two nations since 1846. By the time the crisis was settled, nearly 500 U.S. soldiers and three British warships would stand off on Griffin Bay. It would then require 12 more years of joint military occupation before the international boundary was settled and the San Juans became U.S. territory.

The Pig War (Images of America)

History

Vouri, Mike

Americas

Arcadia Publishing

Friday Harbor (Postcards of America)

San Juan Historical Society and Museum

Vouri, Julie

When Friday Harbor, Washington, was incorporated in 1909, some wanted the town’s name changed. In a misunderstanding, the British had named it in 1858 for a shepherd named “Friday,” who thought they were making introductions, not asking the name of the sheltered bay where he minded sheep. But the name stuck. As with many of the young state’s small port towns, timber, salmon fishing, and farming fueled Friday Harbor’s early economy. However, by midcentury, the lumber mill was gone, the introduction of irrigation in Central Washington swamped fresh produce markets, and the fish and pea canneries were shut down. Life slowed and some left, but in being passed by―until tourism caught on in the late 1970s―the town (and island) developed a unique sense of community that survives to this day.

Friday Harbor (Images of America)

Arts & Photography

Vouri, Julia

Photography & Video

With sheltered harbors, open prairies, and secluded woodlands, San Juan Island has been a magnet for human habitation for thousands of years. Salmon runs and rich soil promised not only an abundant food source but also a good living for those willing to work hard. But it was not until the islands became the focus of an international boundary dispute between Great Britain and the United States in the late 1850s that San Juan Island drew the attention of Europeans and Americans. These newcomers watched how Coast Salish and Northwest Coast peoples harvested natural resources and adapted their techniques. Settlers and Indians sometimes intermarried, and many of their descendants remain to this day. San Juan Islanders of all generations have worked hard to preserve their home, thus maintaining a sense of place that is as evident today as it was when the first canoes came ashore.

San Juan Island (Images of America)

San Juan Historical Society

San Juan Island boasts a rich history.

San Juan Island (Postcards of America)

The occupation of San Juan Island by the Royal Marines between 1860 and 1872 marked the last time "redcoats" would be stationed in lands south of the 49th parallel. Following the nearly disastrous "Pig War" crisis, their primary mission with their U.S. Army counterparts was keeping the peace on an island considered ripe for the taking by Britons and Americans alike. Drawing on historical, archaeological and photographic research, Outpost of Empire offers an intriguing glimpse of a frontier garrison in the Victorian age.

Outpost of Empire: The Royal Marines and the Joint Occupation of San Juan Island

Northwest Interpretive Association

In 1859 Great Britain and the United States almost went to war over the Northwest boundary when an American farmer shot a British pig. That July, U.S. Army Captain George E. Pickett looked down the gun ports of two British warships from his camp on San Juan Island. He knew he needed help, and the sooner the better. The future Confederate general had been ordered there to protect the rights of U.S. settlers from the might of the British Empire. First published in 1999, Mike Vouri's lively account of the Pig War crisis has been revised and expanded into a definitive new edition. Additional photographs, maps, and drawings are combined with new material providing fresh insights into the boundary dispute that confounded diplomats of three nations, but never quite descended into a shooting war.

The Pig War: Standoff at Griffin Bay

Discover Your Northwest

The Pig War of 1859 wasn't really a war over a pig but a loud disagreement that almost came to fighting over a much more important issue between Great Britain and the United States. What they both wanted was the group of 175 named islands known as the San Juan Island.

The Pig War: Conflict and Resolution in the Pacific Northwest

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

San Juan Island is well known for its splendid vistas, saltwater shore, quiet woodlands, and orca whales. But it was also here, in 1859, that the United States and Great Britain nearly went to war over a dead pig. On July 18 of that year, Capt. George E. Pickett (later to lead the famous charge climaxing the Battle of Gettysburg) landed his company of 63 soldiers on the southern end of San Juan Island to protect U.S. citizens from the British government after an American settler, Lyman Cutlar, had shot a pig belonging to the British-owned Hudson's Bay Company. What was really at stake was the possession of the entire San Juan archipelago, held in dispute between the two nations since 1846. By the time the crisis was settled, nearly 500 U.S. soldiers and three British warships would stand off on Griffin Bay. It would then require 12 more years of joint military occupation before the international boundary was settled and the San Juans became U.S. territory.

Pig War

Arcadia Publishing Library Editions

When Friday Harbor, Washington, was incorporated in 1909, some wanted the town's name changed. In a misunderstanding, the British had named it in 1858 for a shepherd named "Friday," who thought they were making introductions, not asking the name of the sheltered bay where he minded sheep. But the name stuck. As with many of the young state's small port towns, timber, salmon fishing, and farming fueled Friday Harbor's early economy. However, by midcentury, the lumber mill was gone, the introduction of irrigation in Central Washington swamped fresh produce markets, and the fish and pea canneries were shut down. Life slowed and some left, but in being passed by--until tourism caught on in the late 1970s--the town (and island) developed a unique sense of community that survives to this day.

Friday Harbor

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