One of the more curious chapters of Washington State history was the incident known as The Pig War. The name seems a bit of a whimsical misnomer, since only one shot was fired in anger, and its victim was a hog. Nevertheless, it resulted in a military confrontation between Great Britain and the United States that might have led to war between the two countries, nearly half a century following the last armed clash in 1812, had not calmer heads on both sides of the Atlantic prevailed.
A friend of mine, Paul Thompson (the former owner of Gentleman Gene’s Pub in Mount Vernon), recently shared a story his father had written about The Pig War for a 1961 edition of the Washington Wonderland magazine. Paul was born and raised on San Juan Island, the scene of the story I’m about to relate. It’s a story that has particular sentimental value to Paul, and I share it both to honor his dad’s memory as well as to entertain you with an interesting piece of Pacific Northwest history.
Here then is “The Pig War — A Hoggish Matter,” by Allen Thompson.
