In June 1859, American farmer Lyman Cutlar was tending his potato patch on San Juan Island when he spotted a large black pig devouring his tubers. The island was jointly claimed by both the United States and Great Britain due to vague boundary language in the Oregon Treaty of 1846. Enraged by the agricultural vandalism, Cutlar shot and killed the pig, which belonged to British employee Charles Griffin of the Hudson's Bay Company.
When Griffin refused Cutlar's offer of $10 in compensation and British authorities threatened Cutlar with arrest, the American settlers requested military protection. Enter Captain George Pickett, who would later gain infamy at Gettysburg. Pickett arrived with 66 American soldiers, set up camp, and boldly declared the entire island US territory.
The British responded by dispatching three warships with over 2,000 men under the command of Rear Admiral Robert L. Baynes. Pickett stubbornly refused to retreat, promising to make a modern Alamo out of the island.
The situation reached a boiling point, but disaster was averted thanks to Admiral Baynes, who refused orders from the local British governor to land troops and engage. Baynes reportedly remarked that starting a war between two great nations over a pig was utterly ridiculous. When news of the standoff finally reached Washington and London, leaders on both sides were shocked by the near-miss.
President James Buchanan dispatched General Winfield Scott to negotiate a peaceful resolution, resulting in a joint military occupation of San Juan Island. The bloodless Pig War endured for 13 years until 1872, when German Emperor Wilhelm I was asked to arbitrate the boundary line, ultimately awarding the island to the United States. The pig remained the war's only casualty.