The Day the San Juan Islands Almost Sparked a War
Before the archipelago was a tourist destination, it was the site of a tense naval standoff between American and British forces over a disputed boundary.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
In the summer of 1859, the San Juan Islands were the site of a volatile confrontation between the United States and Great Britain. Captain Pickett—later a Southern General who led the charge at Gettysburg—had landed on San Juan Island under orders from General Harney, the commander of the military department, in compliance with a wish of the American settlers on the island for protection against the dreaded Northern Indians. Governor Douglas of British Columbia had previously commissioned Major John De Courcy, a British stipendiary magistrate, who arrived on the island a day or two before the arrival of Captain Pickett. The inhabitants were all Americans, with the exception of the agent of the Puget Sound Agricultural Company, an adjunct of the Hudson Bay Company. Upon the arrival of Captain Hornby of the British navy in the Tribune, the major and the captain waited on Captain Pickett and demanded he leave San Juan, claiming it to be British soil. The captain replied that he was there by order of his commanding officer, General Harney, and should remain until having been directed by his own superior to withdraw; that the island was unquestionably ours, and while he remained he should resist by force any attempt to enforce any other authority than that of the laws of Washington Territory and those of the United States. Fortuitously, on the very day that Captain Hornby had determined to carry out his orders, which would have undoubtedly resulted in a battle, Admiral Baynes, commanding the fleet, arrived in his flagship Ganges and ordered Captain Hornby to stop further proceedings in the matter. He said that 'a war between Great Britain and the United States was not to be brought about by a petty Colonial Governor and a captain in the navy.'
“A war between Great Britain and the United States was not to be brought about by a petty Colonial Governor and a captain in the navy.”
The San Juan Islands are famously known today as a peaceful retreat, but the 'Pig War' of 1859 remains a core part of Washington's history. This historical friction serves as a reminder of how thin the line between diplomatic dispute and armed conflict truly was in the Pacific Northwest’s formative years.
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