Camping with the Americans, the Pig War, Part 3

So, we’ve discussed the engagement between Britain and the U.S. that started with a pig, and we’ve talked about the highly civil camp the Brits built to the northwest on San Juan Island, so civil that they hosted the Americans for Queen Victoria’s birthday. This week I’m finishing the series with a little about American camp.

While the Brits were snuggled into a sheltered bay, American camp was on the southern end of the island, strategically overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca. But that location was also in line with the prevailing winds, which can sweep through at an alarming clip. And, while the Brits were surrounded by forests, the American were essentially camping in a field.

That didn’t stop them from building. Materials from an abandoned installation on the mainland (Fort Bellingham) were brought in for officers’ quarters, an enlisted barracks, cookhouse, bakehouse, carpenter’s shop, school, hospital, and guardhouse. Soon, neat, white-washed buildings dotted the headland, in places surrounded by a white picket fence. As many as 30 buildings were erected.

But the sweeping winds weren’t the only things to trouble the Americans. The Brits had only two commanders during their time on the island. The Americans changed commanders 15 times, and the infantry companies stationed there changed 8 times. Their leadership complained about bootleggers in the area selling the men rot-gut whiskey, the consumption of which made them unfit for duty. When the Civil War began, some officers like Pickett resigned to go serve the Confederacy. Those soldiers who remained may have wondered why they were stuck on a peaceful island while their colleagues were fighting and dying. Some no doubt were thankful to avoid the battles. Others fretted about loss of friends, loss of ideals, and loss of opportunities for advancement. A soldier doesn’t ride for glory while standing in a field running bayonet drills to pass the time.

Though no battle was ever fought on San Juan Island, American camp lost 16 soldiers during the 14 years of the encampment. Half died of injury or illness, but three died by suicide. Still, their presence served its purpose. And when Kaiser Wilhelm, the arbitrator in the disagreement between the two nations, decided the island belonged to the Americans, there must have been a celebration.

Like the valiant soldiers at American camp, Marissa and I will be celebrating Independence Day next week, but look for posts from us the week of July 8.

Camping with the Brits: the Pig War, Part 2

A couple weeks ago, I started telling you about the Pig War, an engagement between Britain and the U.S. in my own backyard, and asked you who you’d root for. I must admit I felt more affinity for English Camp than American Camp when I visited San Juan Island recently. Maybe it’s the anglophile in me.

But look at that vista.

English Camp is situated on a sheltered bay at the northwest corner of the island. The beach leads to a wide meadow that served as a parade ground. The British marines and soldiers cleared that ground and built neat white structures such as a commissary, hospital, and enlisted men’s barracks as well as a solid blockhouse that still stands on the very edge of the stony shore. They also built fancier houses for the officers, surgeon, and commander on a bluff overlooking the water.

At one time, the western edge of the meadow contained the enlisted men’s vegetable garden, where they grew potatoes, carrots, and greens. But Captain Delacombe, the second commanding officer, insisted that it be moved elsewhere and replaced it with a traditional English boxwood-hedged garden so his wife could view it from her lofty veranda. One story claims the garden appeased her homesickness for England. She had come with him to these far shores, bringing their three children.

One of the things the Brits found when they first arrived was a huge mound of shells left by the Coast Salish people, who had lived on the space for generations before. The military men ground up the shells and used them to line the paths between buildings, further giving the space a neat, clean appearance. When the Marines proved fractious from the inactivity, their captain set them to work mining limestone and building kilns to burn it into lime, which was shipped back to England for use in making cement, mortar, and fertilizer.

The two sides were remarkably civil to each other. The Brits invited the American soldiers to celebrate Queen Victoria’s birthday. The American’s reciprocated with a grand celebration on Independence Day. They’d host athletic contests and treat the community to a dance.

During the 13 years at the site, no men were lost that I have been able to find. But the story was different at American Camp. Come back next week to learn why.

Who Would You Root For? The Pig War, Part 1

One of my favorite bits of Washington State history involves a pig that brought the U.S. and England to the brink of war. The Pig War was "fought" on San Juan Island from 1859 to 1872.

You see, America and England had long argued over where the boundary would rest between the British Territories in North America (aka Canada) and the U.S. Territories. The decision was made to place the border along the 49^th parallel north. But there was a problem when the line reached the West Coast. It would cut Vancouver Island about in half. The British didn’t want that. They had major trading posts and the burgeoning town of Victoria on that island. So, they negotiated that the boundary would run “in the middle of the channel” through the San Juan Islands and down the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Pacific.

Whoever wrote that line didn’t have a map handy. There are two major channels through the San Juan Islands: one lying to the east of archipelago, one lying to the west. The British thought islands were theirs. The Americans were determined the islands belonged to them. San Juan Island in particular became a kind of no-man’s land, hiding outlaws and smugglers who thought they would be free from any law there.

The Hudson’s Bay Company started a sheep farm on the island to further British claims. A handful of Americans started farms of their own. Then, one day, a pig belonging to the Hudson’s Bay Company went rooting in the garden of an American settler. The American shot it. Hudson’s Bay threatened arrest and eviction. The Americans banded together and appealed to their government for support.

The Army sent George Pickett (before he became famous for his Civil War charge) and 64 infantrymen to protect the citizens. They landed on July 27, 1959. The British sent three warships totaling 62 guns, 400 Royal Marines, and 15 Royal Engineers to roust them out. The Americans refused to budge. A military leader on both sides negotiated a draw down of troops, so that the Americans agreed to no more than 100 soldiers, while the British made do with a single warship. The British commander was given strict orders not to fire unless he was fired upon first.

The Americans set up camp at the southeast end of the island on grassy fields that had belonged to the Hudson’s Bay Company. 

The British built a fort on the northwest corner along a sheltered cove.

And there they stayed for 12 years while the two governments wrangled.

I’ll share more about American Camp and British Camp in the coming weeks. For now, who would you root for?

Besides the pig.