McCullough's War was a military confrontation between the United Kingdom and the United States over control of King's Harbor. Tensions between British and American settlers which had been growing since the establishment of the first European settlements in the area in 1832 boiled over following an alleged cattle robbery committed by the Americans on the British settlement of Brighton (now Allenton), located on Dawson Island. On September 15th, 1839, British settlers launched a retaliatory attack on the American settlement at Emerson, killing 3 American settlers. Violence then ensued between British settlers, under command of Admiral James Allen and American Settlers, under the leadership of local land owner Francis McCullough, a War of 1812 Veteran. After months of tit-for-tat violence, on January 18th, 1840, McCullough was killed whilst attacking a group of British traders attempting to trade with the local Salishan Indians. Allen then called upon assistance from the Royal Navy, who arrived to reinforce the British outpost at Fort Dawson on May 15th, 1840. The Salishan Indians also announced their support for the British. American settlers, now under command of Francis Price then called upon reinforcements from the United States Army, who arrived on June 20th, 1840. The escalation resulted in an international incident between the U.S. and U.K., which was settled in a conference in Havana, Cuba. The Treaty of Havana resulted in the British abandoning their settlement at King's Harbor.
