The Pig War of 1859: How a Single Pig nearly led to War between the U.S. and Britain
Have you ever heard of a war started by a pig? It sounds like a bizarre history myth, but it’s true – well, almost true. In 1859, the United States and Great Britain came shockingly close to armed conflict over the shooting of a single pig.
This strange episode, known as the Pig War, is one of history’s most unbelievable diplomatic showdowns.
Let’s dive into the hilarious yet serious story of how a wandering hog nearly ignited a war between two world powers – and how cooler heads prevailed to keep the peace. (Spoiler: the only casualty was the pig!)
Background: A Tense Border Dispute
To set the stage, remember that after the Oregon Treaty of 1846, the U.S. and Britain still disagreed on the exact border in the Pacific Northwest.
The treaty drew the boundary along the 49th parallel, but it got tricky around the San Juan Islands between Washington Territory and Vancouver Island.
Both nations claimed San Juan Island, and by the late 1850s both American settlers and British employees of the Hudson’s Bay Company lived there side by side.
Tensions were brewing over sovereignty (each side thought the other’s people were trespassing), but folks generally got along… until a pig showed up in the wrong place.
The Pig That Sparked an International Incident
On June 15, 1859, an American farmer named Lyman Cutlar walked into his garden only to find a gigantic black pig rooting in his potato patch.
This wasn’t the first time it happened, and he finally lost his cool – Bang! He shot the pig dead. (Talk about an overreaction, right?) It turned out the pig was owned by Charles Griffin, an Irishman working for Britain’s Hudson’s Bay Company, who often let his pigs roam free across the island.
When Griffin discovered his prized pig was gone, he was furious.
According to one (possibly exaggerated) story, he confronted Cutlar, leading to a darkly comical exchange: Cutlar protested, “…but it was eating my potatoes!” and Griffin snapped back, “Rubbish. It’s up to you to keep your potatoes out of my pig.” You can practically hear the pettiness!
Cutlar offered to pay $10 compensation for the pig, but Griffin refused in indignation.
Instead, British authorities on the island threatened to arrest Cutlar for shooting the pig.
Now the American settlers were the ones outraged – arrest a U.S. citizen over a pig?! The Americans petitioned for military protection, and they got it.
Brigadier General William S. Harney, a hardcore anti-British U.S. Army commander, sent Captain George Pickett (yes, the future Civil War general of Pickett’s Charge fame) with about 60 U.S. soldiers to occupy San Juan Island in July 1859.
Pickett’s men raised the American flag and literally planted cannons, basically saying “This island is ours now.” Talk about an escalation!
Standoff: Armies Face Off Over Bacon?!
When news of the American landing reached Governor James Douglas of British Columbia, he was equally enraged.
Douglas dispatched three British warships with hundreds of Royal Marines to San Juan Island in a show of force.
Suddenly, this local pig problem blew up into an international military standoff. By August 1859, there were American infantry camping on one end of the island and British warships anchored offshore, bristling with guns on the other.
At its peak, the confrontation involved 3 British warships armed with 84 guns and about 2,600 troops ready to go at a moment’s notice.
All this over a pig! Both sides were digging in for a fight, and it seemed like war was actually about to erupt in this quiet corner of the Pacific Northwest.
Thankfully, not everyone had lost their mind. British Rear Admiral Robert L. Baynes arrived to take charge of the Royal Navy forces – and he was shocked at what he found.
He flat-out refused orders to attack the Americans, reportedly declaring he would not “involve two great nations in a war over a squabble about a pig.” (Bless that man’s sanity!) His sensible stance created a pause in the chaos.
On the ground, soldiers on both sides started to realize how absurd the situation was.
Believe it or not, the rival troops began hanging out together during the ceasefire – they even visited each other’s camps, shared whisky, and played games like tossing logs and racing horses in friendly competitions.
Yes, instead of shooting, they were literally having picnics together! This whole scene was more Monty Python than modern warfare.
Resolution: Diplomacy Saves the Day
Word of the Pig War showdown eventually reached Washington, D.C. and London, and the top officials were stunned (and probably a bit embarrassed).
How on earth had a squabble over a hog escalated to the brink of war? U.S. President James Buchanan quickly dispatched General Winfield Scott – a hero of earlier American wars and a skilled negotiator – to defuse the crisis.
After some tense talks, cooler heads prevailed. By October 1859, General Scott and Governor Douglas worked out a compromise: both sides would back down.
Each nation would keep just a token force of about 100 men on the island until the two governments could figure out the rightful owner of San Juan Island.
Essentially, they agreed to a joint occupation, parking one British camp and one American camp on opposite ends of the island, while diplomats sorted things out peacefully.
And sort it out they did – eventually. For the next 12 years, San Juan Island remained peacefully split between a small British garrison and a U.S. garrison.
The whole border question was finally settled through international arbitration.
In 1872, an arbitration commission led by the Emperor of Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm I, reviewed the claims and decided in favor of the United States, drawing the boundary through the channel that put San Juan Island on the U.S. side.
The British withdrew their troops in 1872, the Americans followed a couple years later, and the Union Jack and Stars & Stripes never faced off in anger on San Juan Island. Crisis averted!
Legacy: A Ham-fisted Conflict with a Happy Ending
In the end, the Pig War of 1859 turned out to be a bloodless conflict – often remembered as “the war where the only casualty was a pig.”
Think about that: thousands of troops squared up for battle but not a single human life was lost, all thanks to timely diplomacy and one admiral’s refusal to fight over something so ridiculous.
In my opinion, this story is both hilarious and enlightening. It shows how even superpowers can stumble into a confrontation over a trivial event, and yet also how communication and diplomacy can steer things back from the brink.
I find it kind of heartwarming (and definitely funny) that the “combatants” ended up drinking together and celebrating holidays instead of firing shots.
The Pig War might not be as famous as other wars, but it’s one of those historical war stories that history buffs love because it’s just so darn odd and fascinating.
