San Juan Islanders Draw a Line in the Salish Sea
At a packed meeting in the little town of San Juan, American settlers pass defiant resolutions against the Governor of Vancouver Island and thank the U.S. troops sent to hold the island — an early scene in the boundary standoff remembered as the Pig War.
A large and enthusiastic meeting of the American residents upon San Juan Island was held at the residence of Baker Rubens, in the town of San Juan, on Friday evening, the 12th of November, 1859.
On motion of S. D. Williams, Esq., the meeting was organized by the election of Mr. Howell as Chairman, and Geo. W. Wiley as Secretary.
Messrs. S. D. Williams, Fitch, Wiley, and Ed. K. Hubby, Jr., were appointed a committee to draft a suitable expression of the sentiment of the meeting.
The following preamble and resolutions were reported by said committee and unanimously adopted:
Whereas, We, the American residents and citizens settled upon this thinly-peopled island of San Juan, do firmly and conscientiously believe said island to be a portion of Washington Territory, being outside the boundary line contemplated by treaty, and constituting a part of the territory of Washington; and
Whereas, The Governor of Vancouver's Island, being in command of the Hudson's Bay Company's troops, has lately attempted to move troops upon said San Juan Island, subject to no acknowledged authority and to no law; therefore
Resolved, That the said Governor of Vancouver's Island has hastily and unjustifiably caused British vessels of war to be dispatched to overcome our right to occupy the island, and that his course meets our decided disapprobation.
Resolved, That the conduct of Col. [Silas] Casey, commanding the military department of Oregon, in promptly ordering a company of troops for the protection of our citizens under the authority of the United States, entitles him to the gratitude of every American, having so promptly checked the hostile attempt to dislodge us.
Resolved, That the title of San Juan belongs to us by possession, by occupancy, and by every right in which any nation can claim sovereignty.
Resolved, That we return our sincere and heartfelt thanks and admiration to the officers and men of the company whose presence protects us, and that we are confident the American government and the people, the common sentiment of the whole country, will sustain us.
Resolved, That the encroachments made by Great Britain, in violation of treaty, in sending a British fleet to take possession of the island, and the attempt to force a foreign jurisdiction upon American citizens, meet with our unqualified condemnation; and that we earnestly protest against any surrender of this island, by treaty or otherwise, to Great Britain.
Resolved, That these proceedings be signed by the officers of the meeting and published in the Puget Sound Herald.
The meeting then, on motion, adjourned.
Mr. Howell, Chairman. Geo. W. Wiley, Secretary.
“That the title of San Juan belongs to us by possession, by occupancy, and by every right in which any nation can claim sovereignty.”
This 1859 meeting captures the moment San Juan Island nearly started a war: American settlers and a company of U.S. troops faced off against British warships over a boundary left vague by the Oregon Treaty. The dispute dragged on for years of joint military occupation before arbitration finally awarded the island to the United States in 1872; today the two camps are preserved in San Juan Island National Historical Park, a quiet monument to a border that was once anything but settled.
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