Last updated: August 6, 2022
Place
The Pork and Beans War
Quick Facts
Location:
Caribou, Maine
Significance:
US-British Border Conflict
20 years before the Pig War, the United States and the British Empire fought a bloodless conflict over their northern maritime border. But, unlike the Pig War, this conflict occurred on the far northeastern edge of the nations’ boundaries. It also did not result in the combat death of any creature, even a pig. Instead, it earned the nickname of “The Pork and Beans War” because the frontier soldiers and armed lumberjacks who were on the frontlines largely relied on pork and beans as their diet during the conflict. It did, however, lay the precedent for peaceful conflict resolution and cooperation by national authorities that paved the way for the positive resolution of the Pig War crisis.
When the United States won its independence from Great Britain, the treaty ending the war did not declare precise boundaries between the two nations. The Jay Treaty, which in 1794 delineated the geographical boundary stated that the source of the St. Croix River would serve as the boundary line between the two nations. Unfortunately, due to a lack of surveying, the remoteness of the area, and a lack of settlement in the area which made settling the boundary a low priority for both governments, the exact source of that river remained a matter of interpretation for Britain and the US.
Further complicating things, during the War of 1812, the British occupied coastal Maine, holding territory that unquestionably was within the United States by the letter of the Jay Treaty and only relinquishing it after the war’s end. This created a state of uncertainty in terms of legal titles, with people in the Penobscot Bay region holding competing land grants from Britain and the United States providing financial motivations to see their land definitively incorporated into the nation which had recognized their property rights.
In 1830, this uncertainty nearly led to armed conflict as some of the residents on the St. John River held meetings to incorporate their community, located in the disputed region, as a town under the jurisdiction of the state of Maine. Militia from New Brunswick, a province of the British Empire, showed up at incorporation meetings and arrested some of the community leaders who attempted incorporation. To quell this unrest, US and British officials submitted the boundary to neutral mediation under the king of the Netherlands, who in 1835 created a practical boundary that Britain accepted and the US rejected.
In the winter of 1838-1839, lumberjacks from the United States and the British Empire engaged in logging operations in the disputed zone. Armed standoffs, such as “The Battle of Caribou” occurred where loggers threatened each other and US and British officials arrested and fined loggers from the rival countries for illegally entering what they perceived as their terrain. American and British military forces deployed to the area, and though no shots were fired, a tense standoff, much like the Pig War commenced with rival forts under construction in the disputed lands.
From 1840 until 1842, civilians and military forces faced off in the uncertain territory. Ultimately, US officials in Great Britain came upon a settlement which gave more land to the United Kingdom than had originally been anticipated and paid compensation to state authorities in Maine and Massachusetts for their perceived losses. This peaceful resolution, while it caused some discontent in the British parliaments and in the future nation of Canada, was widely accepted by officials and citizens in the UK and the US. This precedent paved the way for the US and UK to resolve their boundary disputes nonviolently 20 years later during the Pig War
When the United States won its independence from Great Britain, the treaty ending the war did not declare precise boundaries between the two nations. The Jay Treaty, which in 1794 delineated the geographical boundary stated that the source of the St. Croix River would serve as the boundary line between the two nations. Unfortunately, due to a lack of surveying, the remoteness of the area, and a lack of settlement in the area which made settling the boundary a low priority for both governments, the exact source of that river remained a matter of interpretation for Britain and the US.
Further complicating things, during the War of 1812, the British occupied coastal Maine, holding territory that unquestionably was within the United States by the letter of the Jay Treaty and only relinquishing it after the war’s end. This created a state of uncertainty in terms of legal titles, with people in the Penobscot Bay region holding competing land grants from Britain and the United States providing financial motivations to see their land definitively incorporated into the nation which had recognized their property rights.
In 1830, this uncertainty nearly led to armed conflict as some of the residents on the St. John River held meetings to incorporate their community, located in the disputed region, as a town under the jurisdiction of the state of Maine. Militia from New Brunswick, a province of the British Empire, showed up at incorporation meetings and arrested some of the community leaders who attempted incorporation. To quell this unrest, US and British officials submitted the boundary to neutral mediation under the king of the Netherlands, who in 1835 created a practical boundary that Britain accepted and the US rejected.
In the winter of 1838-1839, lumberjacks from the United States and the British Empire engaged in logging operations in the disputed zone. Armed standoffs, such as “The Battle of Caribou” occurred where loggers threatened each other and US and British officials arrested and fined loggers from the rival countries for illegally entering what they perceived as their terrain. American and British military forces deployed to the area, and though no shots were fired, a tense standoff, much like the Pig War commenced with rival forts under construction in the disputed lands.
From 1840 until 1842, civilians and military forces faced off in the uncertain territory. Ultimately, US officials in Great Britain came upon a settlement which gave more land to the United Kingdom than had originally been anticipated and paid compensation to state authorities in Maine and Massachusetts for their perceived losses. This peaceful resolution, while it caused some discontent in the British parliaments and in the future nation of Canada, was widely accepted by officials and citizens in the UK and the US. This precedent paved the way for the US and UK to resolve their boundary disputes nonviolently 20 years later during the Pig War