Outpost of Empire

The joint military occupation of San Juan Island by the British Royal Marines between 1860 and 1872 marked the last time "redcoats" would be stationed in lands south of the 49th parallel. Following the nearly disastrous "Pig War" crisis of 1859 the Royal Navy's mission with their U.S. Army counterparts was keeping the peace on an island considered ripe for the taking by Britons and Americans alike.

Drawing on historical, archaeological and photographic research, Outpost of Empire: The Royal Marines and the Joint Occupation of San Juan Island offers an intriguing glimpse of a frontier garrison in the Victorian age.

The book is available in two formats in the near term: A standard version is available as a downloadable pdf file. Click here to access a 2.5 MB pdf of the book. A deluxe paperback version (Discover Your Northwest/University of Washington Press, $15.95) is available for purchase on the Discover Your Northwest website.