The Pig War: Standoff at Griffin Bay

by Michael Vouri

On July 27, 1859, U.S. Army Capt. George E. Pickett's Company D, 9th Infantry had arrived on San Juan Island with a mission to protect United States citizens from the British government on Vancouver Island.

The reason? An American settler had shot a pig belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company. Everyone overreacted, particularly U.S. Department of Oregon commander, Brigadier General William S. Harney, who had issued Pickett his orders.

Thus began the "San Juan Imbroglio" of 1859, better known today as the "Pig War." The Pig War: Standoff at Griffin Bay explores how this incident nearly touched off a war between Great Britain and United States

Obviously, more was involved than just a dead pig. For nearly 50 years, the two nations had been contending over the international boundary in the Oregon Country, a vast expanse of land consisting of the present states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho, portions of Montana and Wyoming and the province of British Columbia. The Oregon Treaty of 1846 had given the United States undisputed possession of the Pacific Northwest south of the 49th parallel, extending the boundary to the "middle of the channel which separates the continent from Vancouver's Island; and thence southerly through the middle of said channel and of Fuca's straits to the Pacific Ocean." But while the treaty settled the larger boundary question, it created additional problems because its wording left unclear who owned San Juan Island.

As Mr. Vouri points out, the difficulty arose over treaty language that referred to the boundary as the "middle of the channel." There were actually two channels, Haro Strait nearest Vancouver Island, and Rosario Strait, nearer the mainland. San Juan island lies between the two. Britain insisted on the Rosario Strait; the U.S., Haro Strait. Thus, both sides claimed San Juan Island.

To solidify the British claim, the Hudson's Bay Company occupied the southern end of San Juan, first with a salmon-salting station in 1850, followed by a sheep ranch -- Bellevue Farm -- three years later. The Americans, meanwhile, declared the island within the limits of first Oregon (1848) then Washington Territory (1853). By 1859, about 18 Americans had settled on San Juan Island in anticipation of official American possession. The British did not recognize their rights. The U.S. did. Neither group acknowledged the jurisdiction or taxing authority of the other. Tempers grew short. And Charles Griffins black Berkshire boar wandered into Lyman Cutlar's potato patch.

Soon 500 soldiers would occupy San Juan, their presence monitored and threatened by three warships of the Royal Navy.

It would require 12 years and binding arbitration before the issue was settled. Mr. Vouri utilizes official documents, newspaper accounts, letters and period photographs to spin his yarn about one of the most intriguing footnotes in North American history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, American History, Canada, 19th Century

273 pages, Paperback

Published May 15, 1999

About the author

Michael Vouri is the Chief of Interpretation and Historian for San Juan Island National Historical Park, located on San Juan Island in the state of Washington. For more than 14 years he has directed visitor services for the park, which includes historical research, program development, interpretive publications and wayside exhibits, living history and community affairs. He also is the park’s volunteer coordinator.

A communications professional with nearly 30 years experience in public affairs and newspapers, Vouri has held public affairs positions in state and federal government and private industry. These include terms as Assistant Director, Field Services for the state Department of Veteran Affairs; Chief of Public Affairs for the Air Force Reserve's 446th Military Airlift Wing at McChord AFB; and Public Affairs Officer/Curator of History for the Whatcom Museum of History and Art.

During his nearly six years with the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, Washington, Vouri was an arts advocate for the museum and worked to encourage cooperation between the various arts organizations in Whatcom County. As a history curator, he created several exhibitions, including George Pickett and the Frontier Army Experience .

Vouri also has worked as a reporter and editor for weekly and daily newspapers in the Pacific Northwest, taught journalism courses at Western Washington University, his alma mater, and published articles on topics and issues related to Pacific Northwest history. He also wrote a column for the Bellingham Herald.

He is the author of The Pig War: Standoff at Griffin Bay (1999), Outpost of Empire: the Royal Marines and the Joint Occupation of San Juan Island (2004); The Pig War, an illustrated history from Arcadia Publishing (2008); and Friday Harbor (2009), co-written with his wife, Julia Coffey Vouri. He is best known throughout Washington State and British Columbia for playing George Pickett in the Life and Times of General George Pickett, a one-man show which in 2009 enters its 14th season.

He is a Vietnam veteran (1968-69).

Reviews

[Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I live in the Eastern part if the US. I thank Michael Vouri for writing this book. It is writers like this and books that they write that keep history alive. I had never heard of this boundary dispute in any history class or setting. This is a very interesting chapter in the history of the North Western part of out country, and it all started with a pig.

[Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great book, and an amazing story. I can't wait to talk about this next time I am having drinks at the country club in London ... how great is that conversation going to be?? Highly recommend this book!!

[Lauren Glowacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting.

[Dale Grauman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: This rating and review is based on the 1999 edition of the book.

Good history written in engaging prose. I would have given it a four-star rating, but I had three major gripes.

First (and most importantly), this book is sorely lacking in clear, readable maps. Geography is an important component of this narrative, but the only maps in this book are poor reproductions of antique maps. If you do not already have a detailed mental map of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Victoria Island, and the Puget sound region, you will have to consult outside maps to supplement the verbal descriptions of the geography relevant to this history.

Second, I noticed a startling number of typographical errors. In some chapters, I noticed them at a rate of about one per page. And it's not like I was proof-reading the manuscript! I'm normally pretty forgiving when it comes to typos, but for a professionally published manuscript, this was sloppy.

Third, I only looked up one item from the index, but that item was indexed incorrectly. The index said that James Tilton was mentioned on page 204, but he's on page 205. Of course, for all I know, that could be the only error in the index. (Ok, to be fair, I just picked another entry at random--The Department of Oregon--and checked the page numbers for that one. They were correct, for whatever that's worth.)

These complaints are all editorial issues. Apparently, there is a new, expanded edition of this book now available. I would hope that the new edition addresses these problems.

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This history of the events leading to the finalization of the U.S.-Canada boundary is very well-written with an amplitude of source citations and an exploration of some of the hazards of writing history. For readers familiar with U.S. military history before 1940, this book will probably bring amusement; for our first 160 years we existed as a nation deeply suspicious of military force, seeing it as an unnecessary evil.

[Gary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fascinating moment in history, but a poorly written book about it (and I'm a bit mystified that so many Amazon reviews rate it so highly). It's certainly comprehensive but it's also bone dry, has no maps (vital to this type of account) and the writing is often unclear and contains many typographical errors that should have been caught in editing. Kind of wish I'd picked one of the several other books on this incident.

[Mollie *scoutrmom* · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy-to-read summation of the facts with footnotes that do not intrude into the flow of the narrative. Personalities and excerpts from correspondence fill in the gaps between the facts, the few relevant photographs are bunched together in the center of the book, a money-saving trick that does not make for a better read.

Now I know a lot more about the setting of some of my favorite novels.