Which State, of the USA, has the distinction of being the only state to have a war with a foreign nation?

Question

A hint.. it was known as the pork and beans war.

Twenty years later there was a war between the USA and Canada, With only one death, that of a pig. Where was this war?

Answer 1

I guess it was Maine. 

And Texas had a war with Mexico, although Texas was not yet a state of the US.

Comments

Maine is correct,  Did you have to look it up?

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@ Korvo, I did look it up, but only after I made my guess.  I had a vague recollection about it.

Answer 2

The Conch Republic?

Answer 3

Hi Korvo,

Well I can tell you about the Pig War...because it happened near where I have lived for most of my life, in Washington State!

When the US-Canada border was established along the 49th parallel in 1846, the maps for the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Strait of Georgia, between Washinton and British Columbia, were not yet accurate. So by 1859 parts of the San Juan Islands were questionable still, and the pesky pig somehow crossed into No Man's Land and was eating the potatoes, so the farmer shot it!

Soon things escalated into a face-off with about 500 Americans with some cannon and five British warships with more cannon. They hurled insults to try to goad each other into firing, because both sides had orders not to shoot until the other side fired first...but discipline held and nobody started shooting.

So they ended up with joint military occupation of the San Juans for a while, with an interesting situation that persists until even today (according to Wikipedia), where 'the Union Jack still flies above the "English Camp", being raised and lowered daily by U.S. park rangers, making it one of the few places without diplomatic status where U.S. government employees regularly hoist the flag of another country.'

Here is a current photo of English Camp on San Juan Island, with the Union Jack still flying there!

Comments

Correct.. I figured you, living in Washington, would get this one.  If you look at a Canadian map, the island is in Canadian waters, and if you look at a US map, it is in US waters.. Guess it is just not important enough to worry the governments.

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Oh Korvo, I did not know that about the maps...that is funny! 

Well I am glad to two governments are not still trying to face each other down over this...and it is an interesting Q, btw!

    

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Virginia, you do know about "War Plan Red" don't you? (The secret plan the US had to invade Canada)  Devised in the 1920's and continuously updated until 1974.  Canada also had a plan (best defence is a strong offence) to invade the US, almost a mirror image of the US plan.

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Korvo, no I did NOT know about those mutual invasion plans!

For a long time, I recall people saying there should be NO border guards between the US and Canada; of course all that changed after 9/11...no one says that now. I myself never had any difficulty crossing the border until 2015, when it was only by the grace of an understanding Canadian guard that I was allowed in at all! He saw that I was authentic, but it was his own personal judgment, he could have stopped me.

I was very sorry to see all that happening now; Canada and the US are basically wonderful neighbors.

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@ Korvo,

I would gladly trade Detroit for Toronto, or Buffalo for Montreal.  Let 'er rip!

JUST KIDDING!!  

Answer 4

I vaguely remember having heard about a dispute between Great Britain and the United States over the Canadian Border, resp. the ownership of an island, as a historical "must see" site was mentioned, some time ago:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Juan_Island_National_Historical_Park

Here's the link about historical records:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig_War_(1859)

I had to look up for more info, as I only remembered some "touristic" aspects, including whale watching, and that, historically, a pig was involved.

Answer 5

Oops, I had to check more thoroughly, as the comments (my best sources in American history are Think, Virginia and Rooster) about this kind of dispute with Canada, or rather with Great Britain, referred clearly to two different events (there has been a great number of major and minor incidents in US history, and it was and still is current that many countries have their defense and war plans to protect their identity and independence).

State of Maine

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aroostook_War

Oregon State Boundary Dispute (later Washington State, since 1899)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig_War_(1859)

And about the famous US war plans:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_color-coded_war_plans

Oh, by the way, the way the question is asked, is, somehow, confusing.

Comments

Marianne    My questions are always confusing, as I am always confused.

The War plan was a shock to many of us as we had such a friendly relationship.  Before the 21st century it was easy to visit the US. We were asked "Are you Canadians?"  (no proof necessary) and do you have any fruit or vegetables. then you drove into the US. Coming back they asked about tobacco  and fruit or vegetables, and you drove home. The Americans coming to Canada were treated the same, except they were asked about guns.

How could such friends be planning war against each other?  (I really do not think either countries plans were meant to be carried out, they were just questions given to the Generals to give them something to think about.

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Yes, Korvo, sadly enough, such situations occurred very often in history, everywhere in the world, and we heard about these present-day problems; there was already a deterioration after the Septermber 11th attacks, and since Trump's travel ban, things are getting worse.

http://balanceoffood.typepad.com/canadian_crossing/2011/09/the-deterioration-of-the-us-canada-relationship-ties-back-to-september-11-2001.html

http://globalnews.ca/news/3561826/trump-travel-ban-canadians-travelling-to-us/

http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/canadians-view-of-u-s-deteriorated-under-trump-global-survey-1.3478483

https://www.forbes.com/sites/andyjsemotiuk/2017/08/12/illegal-immigrants-flee-to-canadian-border-as-trump-cracks-down-on-immigration-in-the-u-s/#4c80cf53715a

Inner conflicts between English and French speaking Canadians:

https://www.historians.org/about-aha-and-membership/aha-history-and-archives/gi-roundtable-series/pamphlets/canada-our-oldest-good-neighbor/is-there-a-deep-split-between-french-and-english-canada

And I did not refer to the long history of conflicts between European colonists, immigrants, missionaries, slaves, adventurers and bandits, etc., with the indigenous peoples of the Americas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas

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@Korvo

By the way, such cases are confusing to all, as such practices were current between "friends" and "partners" - throughout history - trusting each other is "one thing", but it is always safer to take precautions, just in case.