The Military Frontier in Washington Territory withSpecific Reference to the San Juan Islands 1858-1861
This investigation of the military frontier history of Washington Territory with specific reference to the San Juan Islands was started with the idea of considering the San Juan affair as a military frontier problem. With this objec­tive in mind, sources of information were sought that would highlight military per­sonalities intimately connected with the affairs of this tiny island for the period indicated, disclose interesting and little known facts pertaining to the military occupation of San Juan, and above all, prove through the historical method that what was considered, and still is by some historians, a highly diplomatic crisis between England and the United states, was in reality a frontier military Problem. The situation, with all its implications and possible consequences, as far as can be determined by available sources, was entirely in the hands of mili­tary authority far removed from diplomatic or administrative control. Some investigations have been conducted in regard to this quite famous boundary dispute between the United States and Great Britain, including a thesis by Philip A. Karst - "San Juan Boundary Dispute.” At no time, however, has any one attempted to approach the problem entirely from a frontier point of view, highlighting specific military personnel of the United States Army, and bringing into focus, possible connection of the San Juan affair with the Civil War and secession.
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