Re-enactors from throughout the Pacific Northwest and Canada will once again celebrate peace as they gather for the 12th Annual Encampment and Pig War Sesquicentennial scheduled July 25-26 on the English Camp parade ground.

The event is free except where noted. Disabled persons should call the park at (360) 378-2902 or (360) 378-2240 for special access information.

The highlight of this year’s event will be the visit of the tall ships Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain from the Gray’s Harbor Historical Seaport. The ships are scheduled to arrive at noon on the 25th and will welcome visitors throughout the day. Other activities include recreations of mid-19th century Royal Marine Light Infantry and U.S. Army camp life, demonstrations of music, blacksmithing, horsemanship, spinning and weaving, sewing and cooperage and carpentry, along with the pageantry of period uniforms in scarlet and blue.

Black powder rifled musket demonstrations and the firing of Battery D’s mountain howitzer also are planned both days.* The activities on the 25th will culminate in the Candlelight Ball, scheduled at 8 p.m., in the English Camp barracks. The public is invited to join in the dancing and refreshments that will include the traditional cake and punch. Music for contra dancing will be provided by the folk group Sugar on the Floor. Click here to learn about the full line up of events.

An Adventure Sail for a fee is scheduled aboard both ships at 3 p.m. on Sunday the 26th, with passengers embarking by longboat from the dock on Garrison Bay and boarding the vessels by Jacob’s ladder. Contact Gray’s Harbor Historical Seaport at www.ladywashington.org or 1-800-200-5239.

Encampment 2009 commemorates the peaceful joint occupation of San Juan Island by British and American forces from 1859 to 1872, and final settlement of the Northwest Boundary dispute. But this year’s event also celebrates the 150th anniversary of the peaceful resolution of the Pig War crisis, triggered on June 15, 1859 when Lyman Cutlar, an American, shot a British-owned pig for rooting in his garden.

This seemingly innocuous event nearly escalated into hostilities between elements of the U.S. Army and the Royal Navy on San Juan Island between July and October 1859. The crisis was quelled thanks to the restraint of Royal Navy officers on scene and the negotiating skills of Lt. Gen. Winfield Scott, commander of the U.S. Army, who made the six-week trip from New York City to the West Coast from Washington, DC.

Shortly after Scott re-embarked for the East, the two nations agreed to a joint military occupation of the island. The Americans elected to remain at their camp on the island’s Cattle Point Peninsula while Royal Marines established their camp 13 miles north on Garrison Bay.

Throughout the joint occupation the garrisons exchanged visits to celebrate holidays that included Christmas, the Fourth of July and Queen Victoria’s birthday. Typically the men would participate in athletic contests, imbibe in spirits and other refreshments and usually host a dance to which the community was invited.

The Encampment tradition was renewed in 1998 on the occasion of the dedication of English Camp’s 80-foot flagpole, a gift to the park by the people of the United Kingdom. The event drew nearly 600 people to the parade ground, including distinguished guests and officials from both nations.

For more information about Encampment 2009, call (360) 378-2902 or e-mail.

Re-enactors are invited to register for the event on the links provided below. The period is 1853-1872, U.S. Army, Royal Marines, British Army, Royal Navy. Those wishing to camp on the parade ground must have period tents and attendant equipment.

Application (Word)

Application (pdf)

Please FAX to (360) 378-2996, e-mail or post to San Juan Island NHP, PO Box 429, Friday Harbor, WA 98250.

*All black powder demonstrations are being performed with blank cartridges on a controlled range under NPS safety standards.