The San Juan Island Forgery: A Soldier’s Scam and a Territorial Cover-Up
In the tense weeks of the Pig War standoff, a U.S. Army sergeant allegedly forged paymaster certificates to steal $1,604 from a local man in Olympia, sparking a legal battle that exposed corruption within the military ranks.
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.
A man named Henry Wilson was arrested by the U.S. Marshal Wednesday for uttering certain forced Paymaster's certificates, or drafts. Most of the papers have it that he was arrested for forging U.S. Treasury notes, which was far from being the case. It was, and is still supposed, that the chief, and perhaps only guilty party, was one William Smith, a Sergeant in a company of the United States troops stationed on San Juan Island in this Territory.
It appears that on Saturday last, Mr. Wilson appeared at the Police Office and complained that William Smith was about leaving on the steamer and owed him about $200. Officers Ellis and Johnson went with him to the steamer, when Wilson, seeing Smith on the steamer, ran up to him, collared him, and drained him of his money. He and Smith then had some conversation on the wharf, when Smith gave over to him certain three papers purporting to be paymaster's certificates or drafts, drawn by Capt. Pickett of San Juan, and in favor of Corporal J. Kelly for $274.71; one in favor of Private P. McCormick for $60; and the third in favor of Private D. Williams for $534.45.
On the receipt of them Wilson expressed himself satisfied and paid the officers $50 for their trouble. Smith was allowed to go his way, but in the meanwhile the steamer had departed, so that he is probably in State, perhaps in this city. These aforementioned certificates, which are forged, have endorsements on them to Wilson, and he drew the money out from Paymaster Pinfold—$1,604 in all. There seems to be no doubt whatever, but that Smith knew all about the forgeries, possibly forced the papers himself: and the question now is whether Wilson was cognizant of the forgeries. He was charged with having collected the money on the papers as an accomplice of Smith.
The case was examined before U.S. Commissioner J. H. Williams yesterday; and there appearing sufficient testimony to send the accused to the grand jury, he was bound over by the Commissioner to the U.S. Circuit Court and his bail fixed at $1,000.
This story captures the chaotic intersection of military occupation and civilian life in Olympia during the 'Pig War' crisis of 1859-60. While the world focused on the diplomatic standoff between the U.S. and Britain over San Juan Island, a gritty financial crime unfolded in the town's police office, revealing how the presence of armed troops created opportunities for fraud and abuse of authority right under the noses of local law enforcement.
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