Pig War

[Christopher Densmore]

When considering who provoked who to start the Civil War, consider the
Pig War, one of the lesser known American conflicts. From 1859 to 1871,
there was an American and a British fort on one of the San Juan island
on the border between British North America and Washington State. Both
sides claimed the island. The conflict was resolved by international
arbitration in 1871. Total casualities: one pig (British). IMHO finding
out how wars didn't start may be more useful than finding out why they
did.
P.S. The island is now part of the U.S.
-- Chris Densmore

[Jay Gale]

In article <CJA1K...@acsu.buffalo.edu>, AQAC...@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu
(Christopher Densmore) wrote:

There's another connection between the Pig War and the Civil War.
Then Capt. George Pickett was stationed at Ft. Bellingham (now the
city of Bellingham) and rode by canoe to San Juan Island to try to
cool things off between the British and Americans. If you talk to
the island locals, they'll tell you that he succeeded in increasing
tensions between the two sides (must have been that famous Virginia
temper of his). If you're interested, I have some history books on the
San Juan Islands and will post more info on the Pig War.

--
*** *** *** ***
To call something public is to define it as dirty,
insufficient, and hazardous. The ultimate paradigm
of social spending is the public rest room

Jay Gale.......Seattle Wa.