The Pig War was a conflict that occurred in 1859 between the United States and Great Britain over the boundary between the U.S. and British North America, specifically on San Juan Island. The dispute began when an American settler, Lyman Cutlar, shot a pig that was rooting in his garden, owned by a British farmer, Charles Griffin. Tensions escalated as both sides sent military forces to the island, but no actual fighting took place. The conflict was resolved peacefully when both nations agreed to a joint occupation of the island, and the matter was later settled by arbitration in 1872.