A Pig That Started a War

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In 1859 a conflict began on the San Juan Islands when an American farmer shot a pig who had gotten into his garden and eaten his potatoes. The pig belonged to a British settler and tension escalated quickly with both sides sending troops to the islands. No shots were fired between U.S. soldiers and Bristish naval forces though they faced off for several months. The dispute was finally settled peacefully through arbitration by German's Kaiser Wilhelm I who awarded the San Juan Islands to the United States. This face off was called the Pig War of 1859.