Honey War

The Honey Lands were a strip of territory disputed between the U.S. state of Missouri and the U.S. territory of Iowa. Both political entities claimed the area because of confusion caused by a poorly-done survey conducted on the orders of the Missouri legislature. In 1838 the dispute came to a head when militia from both Missouri and Iowa Territory came into the area after the felling of several honey trees by Missouri residents.

The disputed strip was thirteen miles wide and several hundred miles long. The two militias gathered along the disputed land, but the Honey War was averted when the Missouri troops withdrew. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Iowa Territory in 1849.