Pig War: The war that wasn’t

Tensions escalate between the U.S. and Canada over a pig, leading to a near-war conflict in 1859.

In 1859, a boundary dispute on the U.S.-Canada border almost escalated into a full-scale conflict, all because of a pig. Imagine, two countries—already on edge from tense diplomatic relations—teetering on the brink of war over the fate of a single animal.

The incident took place on the San Juan Islands, a disputed territory in the Pacific Northwest, where the U.S. and British territories met. This was during a time when the two nations were already in the midst of navigating competing claims over the region, setting the stage for a truly unusual diplomatic standoff.

In 1846, the Oregon Treaty was signed, dividing the territory along the 49th parallel. However, the treaty did not explicitly mention the San Juan Islands, leaving their ownership ambiguous. This lack of clarity led both the United States and the United Kingdom to interpret the boundary differently, with each claiming the islands as their own. This unresolved issue sowed the seeds of tension, escalating disputes over sovereignty and setting the stage for the conflict that would follow.

The flashpoint of the conflict came on June 15, 1859, when American farmer Lyman Cutlar shot a pig that had wandered onto his property and was eating his crops. The pig belonged to Charles Griffin, a British subject managing the Hudson’s Bay Company’s Belle Vue Sheep Farm. While anecdotal accounts suggest a humorous exchange between the two, the deeper issue lay in 19th-century farm norms, which held Cutlar responsible for keeping free-ranging livestock off his land. Seeking to make amends, Cutlar offered reparations, but Griffin demanded an exorbitant $100 for the pig, intensifying the dispute.

Beyond this incident, tensions between American settlers and the Hudson’s Bay Company, which represented British interests, were already high. Disputes over land use and governance had created a simmering conflict that the pig’s death brought to a boil, turning a local disagreement into an international standoff.

British authorities on Vancouver Island backed Griffin, seeing this as an opportunity to assert their claim to the San Juan Islands. American settlers supported Cutlar, viewing the incident as symbolic of their rights to the land. Calls for justice and sovereignty over the islands transformed a minor agricultural dispute into a brewing international crisis.

This seemingly trivial incident exposed the underlying tensions between the two nations, bringing the boundary dispute to the forefront and setting the stage for military involvement.