The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

OK, What Was "The Pig War?"

I hear you ask. I believe I read about it somewhere a while back, but didn't remember much at all about it. So, I went to good old Wiki and looked it up. Talk about your instant facts. Yesterday, I wrote about Civil War persons involved in the incident.


THE PIG WAR (Or, "Don't Oink Me While I Root")


This incident, which came close to causing a war between the United States and Britain in 1859, was triggered by the shooting of a pig. Other names for the incident are The Pig Episode, The Pig and Potato War, The San Juan Border Dispute, or, the Northwestern Boundary Dispute.

And, it was essentially bloodless as the pig was the only "casualty."


PRELIMINARY

The Oregon Treaty, January 15, 1846, divided the US and British North America along the 49th Parallel. However, there was some question about the location of San Juan Island in Puget Bay as existing maps were old and vague. Both sides claimed it.

The Hudson Bay Company had established a sheep ranch there and about 25-29 Americans had settled on the island by 1859 and both groups lived peacefully, until....

More to Oink. --The Oink-Runner