The Aroostook War and How It Changed the United States

"On July 4, 1827, less than a decade into Maine's life as an official state, outspoken sawmill owner John Baker raised a homemade American flag on the western side of the junction between Baker Brook and the St. John River.

"It was a bold statement on what was still disputed territory as the dust slowly settled from two previous wars against the British. Baker, the so-called 'Washington of the Republic of Madawaska,' was arrested by New Brunswick authorities and held until he could pay a 25-pound fine - an amount estimated to be worth tens of thousands of U.S. dollars in today's money.

"The incident contributed to growing pressure on the U.S. and Great Britain to determine once and for all where the northeasternmost borders between the two countries’ North American territories should be placed.

"Many Mainers have at least heard of the resultant Aroostook War, otherwise known as the 'Pork and Beans War.' But what largely became a footnote in U.S. military history changed America forever, in ways few people may recognize."

A recent Bangor Daily News article reported on this conflict, which began 188 years ago this week, and was the only occasion in which a state of the United States declared war on a foreign country.

To access this report (including its list of effects still being felt today, please visit:

Bangor Daily News: Think Maine: How Maine’s little-known war changed America forever (23 JUN 15)

Background information:

Maine: An Encyclopedia: Aroostook War