In 1839, the United States and Great Britain almost went to war over trees. The border between Maine and New Brunswick was undefined, and valuable timberland lay in the disputed zone. When Canadian lumberjacks started chopping down "American" pines, the Governor of Maine sent in the militia. This is the story of the Aroostook War, affectionately known as the "Pork and Beans War" due to the soldiers' diet. It involved angry lumberjacks, a massive deployment of troops, and a lot of posturing, but miraculously, zero combat deaths. The only casualties were two soldiers who froze to death and a cow that was shot by mistake. "The Pork and Beans War" is a humorous yet fascinating look at how close two allies came to bloodshed over resources. It highlights the power of diplomacy (and a convenient map fraud) in resolving the conflict, ultimately defining the peculiar northeastern border of the USA.
