Post History
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(If anyone has a photo of Harry J. Conway please contact our post!)
Post History and Legion News and events from 1924 – 2014
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The Sabattus American Legion Post #135 was chartered on
December 15, 1924. The post is located
on Island Road in the town of Sabattus, in rural Maine. The post is now it
its 89th year of existence. Sabattus is a town in Androscoggin County, Maine,
United States. The population was
4,876 at the 2010 census. The town was formerly known as Webster, and changed
its name to Sabattus in 1971, in honor of a former Anasagunticook
Indian chief. The town was first
incorporated as Webster on March 21, 1788.
The only parts of the town to bear the name Sabattus were the lake,
river, and mountain. Over time, the
spelling of the town’s changed from Sabattis to its
current spelling. The post is named after Private Harry James Conway, United
States Army. He was a veteran of World War I. Serial Number: 582679 Date of Birth: April 9th,
1895, to Matthew and Mary Conway in Lisbon Falls, Maine.
Harry Conway - Record of Birth (Source: Ancestry.com) Residence: Sabattus Enlisted: National Guard
Lewiston, Maine,
April 8, 1917. Reported for Federal Service: July 25, 1917. Rank: Private. Organizations: • 9th Coastal
Artillery Company, Maine National Guard, April 8, 1917; • 25th Coastal
Artillery Company Portland April 8, 1917 to January 1, 1918; • Battery F, 54th
Coastal Artillery Company (CAC) to May 17, 1918; • Battery C, 57th
Coastal Artillery Company (CAC) to Nov. 8, 1918. England: Toul
Sector; Argonne Forest; St Mihiel. Overseas: March 22, 1918
to November. 8th,
1918. Killed in action:
November 8, 1918.
Death
Notice (Source:
The Daily Kennebec Journal, dated December 13, 1918) (Source: Soldiers of the Great War, Volume III,
Soldiers Record Publishing Association, Copyright 1920) Link to Soldiers of the Great
War - Volume III
A Letter from Harry Conway to his
Mother printed in the local newspaper. (Source: “The Lewiston Daily Sun”, dated May
16, 1918, Page 8)
World War I
Soldiers Index Harry Conway Sabattus, Maine KIA – November
8, 1918 Maine State
Archive Collections 1718-1957 Unit History of the 2nd
Battalion, 57th Artillery
CAC, by Sergeant James L. Grace The 2d Battalion, 57th Artillery C.A.C. On the 20th of July, 1917, we left
Ft. Williams, Maine, for the mobilization camp at Ft. Adams, Rhode Island. We
arrived there in the afternoon of the same date. On the 21st of July, 1917,
we were officially designated as Battery F and Battery G of the 6th
Provisional Regiment, C. A. C. Previous to this change we were the 3rd and
4th Co's C.A.C., Ft. Williams, Maine. We remained
in Ft. Adams until the 13th of August, 1917, going through an extensive
training preparing us for Overseas duty. On the 13th of August, 1917, we left
Ft. Adams for New York, arriving there at 2 A. M. on the morning of the 14th
of August. We left the train at 7:45 A. M. and took the ferry across to Pier
54, Hoboken, New Jersey, where we embarked on the Cunard Liner, Andania, at 10:25 A.M. At 3 P.M. we were all ready and
steamed out of the bay flying the British flag, with everybody below deck, No
cheers, not even a smile to send us on our way to an unknown land, to fight
for and protect that which we all love best, "Liberty" The 2nd Battalion then known as the
6th Regiment, Coast Artillery Corps was the only unit carried by the HMS Andania on that voyage. On board were 108 Officers, 1,745
enlisted men and 1 Civilian. The only other ship to sail on the 14th of
August, 1917 was the El Occidente with 67 Casuals. After an uneventful voyage of three
days we anchored in the Bay of Halifax, Nova Scotia at 3 A, M, on the morning
of the 17th of August, 1917. While here we had lifeboat drill and coaled up.
Also we had a good view of submarines, as there were plenty of them in the
bay. They were ours and the Allies, of course. After remaining in the harbor
for four days we started on our uncertain journey across the Atlantic at 5:30
P. M. of the 21st of August, 1917, in company with six other ships, making a
total of seven in the convoy. The convoy consisted of three troop ships,
three freighters, and an auxiliary cruiser, each and every one fairly well
armed as a protection against submarines. On August 29th, 1917, at 7 P. M. we
were met five hundred miles off the Irish coast by a convoy of eight torpedo
boat destroyers of the British Navy. August 31st, 1917, we pulled into
Bentley Bay, Ireland, until the minesweepers could sweep the channel for us.
September 1st, 1917, at 5:30 P. M. the all clear signal was given and we
started on the rest of our journey, arriving at Liverpool, England, at 7 P.
M., of the 2nd of September, 1917, after a nineteen day trip across the
Atlantic looking for submarines. It has been rumored in German Naval
circles, although never verified, that the submarine commanders were tried
for neglect of duty in letting us get by them. Well, we were received with
open arms by the British and sent to Camp Borden, England, arriving there at
9:50 A. M. on the morning of the 3rd of September, 1917, after an all-night
ride in those quaint old-fashioned cars that are still in use in England.
Upon our arrival at Camp Borden we were greeted by the British soldiers, who
had a good substantial meal prepared for us, which we certainly did relish
and enjoy, as it was the first real good meal that we had since we left the
dear old U.S.A. We got the rest of the day off to straighten ourselves out
and get our land legs back again. We remained in Camp Borden, England,
until the 15th of September, 1917; during which time we went through an
extensive training, preparing for the front line trenches in France. Part of
our training consisted of cold water baths in the open air. At 8:40 A. M. on
the morning of the 15th of September, 1917, we left Camp Borden for
Southampton, where we took the Steamer Londonderry, at 7:30 P. M. for La
Havre, France, crossing the English Channel, and arriving at La Havre,
France, at 3:30 A.M. on the morning of the 16th of September, 1917, after one
of the worst nights that we had ever put in up to this time. The steamer
would accommodate comfortably about twelve hundred, and there were seventeen
hundred and fifty of us on it, so you can imagine the crowded condition. But
we never growled or grumbled because it had to be done. We disembarked at 8
A.M. and marched to Rest Camp No. 2, where we remained until 8:45 A.M. of the
morning of September 17th, 1917, when we left Rest Camp No. 2 and entrained
for the mobilization camp known as Camp Mally,
arriving there at 10:45 A.M. on the morning of the 18th of September, 1917.
This camp is a real good camp and is situated thirty-five miles from No Man's
Land and is used principally for mobilization purposes. We immediately
started our training and on the 25th day of September, 1917, we, with Battery
H. were detached from our regiment and attached to the French mission and
sent to French Artillery Headquarters at Noialles,
reporting to same on the 26th day of September, 1917. After reporting, we
were assigned to Billets, F Battery in Ponchon, G Battery in Pierrepont and H
Battery in Roye. We spent the time between September
26th and October 1st, 1917, in cleaning up our new homes and making ourselves
comfortable. October 1st we were loaned two new type French guns known as the
155mm GPF gun, so as to become thoroughly familiar with same, as it had been
decided to equip quite a lot of American troops with said gun. We spent the
time from October 1st to December 3rd, 1917, in drilling and becoming
qualified in the use of said gun. On December 4th, 1917, we were motorized
and issued eight of these guns, being the first American troops overseas to
be motorized and we drew the first eight guns of this type put out for the
American troops. Our guns were numbered from 1 to 8 inclusive, Battery F
drawing from 1 to 4 inclusive and Battery G from 5 to 8 inclusive. From the
4th of December to the 23rd of December, 1917, we spent our time in becoming
familiar with our new transportation, which, being new to us, required quite
a little time to become perfect. For the guns we had Renault forty-five
horsepower tractors and Latil thirty horsepower
tractors for gun material. For personnel we had three-ton White trucks. And I
might mention here that during our stay here the second Liberty Loan was
floated and we bought thirty-five thousand dollars worth
of bonds. We had from the 23rd to the 26th of December, 1917, off to enjoy
the Xmas holidays. After successfully passing the
required examinations of the French, we were ordered to Camp de Souge, near Bordeaux, to train incoming troops in the art
of handling this gun, which proved Germany's downfall. In compliance with
these orders we left the French Artillery Headquarters and entrained at
Beauvais and left this district at 12:30 P.M. on the 28th of December, 1917,
arriving at Camp de Souge at 6 P.M. of the 31st of
December, 1917, after a very cold and strenuous ride of three days and nights
in boxcars and trucks, but none the worse for our trip. The month of January, 1918, was spent
in convoy practice and target practice, in which we came up to the required
percentage demanded by the French mission. From February 1st to April 7th,
1918, we spent in training the 146th and 148th Field Artillery in the art of
handling this type of gun. During this period of training the 146th and 148th
F. A. we were changed from Batteries. F & G, 6th Regiment C. A. C., to
Batteries. F & G, 51st Artillery. C. A. C. The change taking effect on
the 27th day of December, 1917, but we did not receive the order until
February 15th, 1918. On April 8th, 1918, we were ordered
to Libourne to receive a post graduate course in
the School of Musketry and in the Tractor School. We completed this course by
May 10th, 1918, and were ordered to get ready for active service at the
front. This news was received with profound joy throughout the Battalion. May
11th, 12th, and 13th were spent in making preparations for this great event
and on May 14th, 1918, we left Libourne for the
front in the Toul sector, arriving in the danger
zone May 17th, 1918. From May 17th to September 11th, 1918, we were facing
the enemy. On May 19th, 1918, there was an air raid over our sector, and
Major Lufberry (at that time the American ace) was
accidentally killed by falling out of his plane while chasing the Huns. On
May 26th, 1918, at 11:55 P.M. we fired the first shot at the enemy that was
fired by American troops with this type of gun in this great World War, From
then until September 11th, 1918, we exchanged shots
with the Huns every day. Also our aviators exchanged visits every day with
them. We had our first casualties on the
22nd of July during a night air raid when two men of Battery F were killed
and a man from Battery H was wounded. On the 15th of July, 1918, our official
designation was changed from Batteries. F and G, 51st Art. C. A. C. to
Batteries C and D, 57th Artillery C. A. C., 31st Brigade, Army Artillery,
First Army. At 12:59 A. M. on the morning of the
12th of September, 1918, the world was electrified by the announcement of a
barrage put over by the Americans and French. This was the largest barrage
ever put over by any troops up to this time and we had the honor of starting
it in our particular sector. This drive is known as the great St. Mihiel drive and is famous
because of its magnitude and effectiveness. There was more artillery
mobilized for this drive than for any other drive previous. This drive lasted
for three days and was a complete success from every point of view. We
suffered no casualties. On account of our excellent work in
this drive we got a letter of commendation which is herewith produced. These
letters are generally termed citations, and it makes one feel proud to get
them. After things quieted down in this
sector we got orders to go to the Verdun front and take part in a drive to be
pulled off there; so on September 18th, 1918, we left the Toul
sector and proceeded to go to Verdun in compliance with our orders. We
arrived and made our echelon at Souohsine-la Grand on the 20th of September, 1918, where we were
joined by the rest of our regiment and took up position at Monceville the night of the same day. This was a
particularly dangerous position as it was in the open and all work had to be
done at night. We were in plain view of the Huns so we had to be extremely
careful in the use of our camouflage. We got in position very soon after our
arrival and at 11:30 P. M. of the 25th of September, 1918,
we got orders to open up. And again the world was electrified by the
immensity of the barrage. This barrage is called the million-dollar barrage.
And in less than five hours after we opened up the Huns were on the run. We
suffered no casualties at this position. We remained in this position until
October 2nd when we advanced about fifteen Km. and took up position at Cuisy and opened up another barrage at 1 A. M. on the
morning of the 4th of October, 1918. This barrage was not so
intense as previous barrages. We remained in this position firing
intermittently until the 13th of October, 1918, when we advanced about ten
Km. and took up position at Eclisfontaine. We never
opened up a barrage from this position, but fired intermittently until
October 25th, 1918, when we again advanced about five Km. taking up position
at Romange. At Eclisfontaine
our casualty list consisted of one man wounded slightly. The last three named
positions, namely Cuisy, Eclisfontaine
and Romange we went in position under machine gun
fire, disregarding the terrible Huns and their deadly fire, but neither the
terrible Hun or his deadly fire proved effective as far as casualties were
concerned, only at the last named position, Romange,
where we had six killed and eighteen wounded. Romange
was our worst position on account of such close range and the delay of other
units getting into position. At last the stage was set and the
order came to open up the big show at 12:55 A. M., the morning of the 1st of
November, 1918, and we thought that we had put over some barrages, but this
one exceeded all others in every respect and was the last barrage of any
consequence on our front, and was the indirect cause of Germany asking for an
armistice. A German Major taken prisoner made the remark that there was nothing
could live under an American barrage. The ground looked as though it had been
freshly ploughed. We remained in this position until November 6th, 1918, when
we advanced about fifteen Km and took up position at Beaufort where we
remained until the 24th of November, 1918. At Beaufort we fired the salute of
forty-eight shots to the Union Jack on the day the armistice took effect,
therefore having to our credit the last as well as the first shot fired by
American troops with this type of gun. We commenced firing these shots at
10:50 A.M. and fired the last one at 10:59 1/2 A. M. using as our targets
three cross roads heavily convoyed by German troops. In appreciation of our
excellent work during this offensive we received six letters of commendation
from Brigade Headquarters at different intervals of the offensive, which are
herewith produced. Our causalities here were two killed
and two wounded, making our total casualties from the time we left the U.S.
until the armistice was signed, eleven killed and twenty wounded. Of the
twenty wounded one will be a cripple for life, while the other nineteen will
be restored to normal condition. This
offensive was known as the Argonne-Meuse offensive and the decisive battle of
the war. And now since the armistice has been
signed and we have assumed that watchful waiting policy, I feel duty bound to
mention the good work done by our detachment of Headquarters Supply and
Medical Corps. Too much cannot be said of the excellent work performed by
these two detachments. Much credit, in fact the larger portion of the credit,
for the maintenance of this battalion in supplies of all kinds is due 1st
Lieut. Alvin Johnson, who was in command of Headquarters and Supply Company,
and Sgt. Major Henry Rice, who was Battalion Supply Sgt. It was through their
untiring and unceasing efforts that this Battalion was at no time out of
supplies, that were necessary for the maintenance and upkeep of an efficient
Battalion. At no stage of the game were we ever short of supplies. And for
the excellent health enjoyed by this Battalion, credit is due our able and
efficient Medical detachment. And now we will return back to
Beaufort where we are still watching the movements of the Huns. We remained
in Beaufort until the 24th of November, 1918, when the all-clear signal was
given and then we started for the rear to turn in our implements of war and
get ready to return to our beloved country. We left Beaufort on the morning
of the 24th November, 1918, by convoy, and arrived at our destination, which
was Dommartin, on the 29th of November at 3 P.M.,
passing through the following towns and spending from three hours to an
entire night in each. Romange, spending the night, Auzeville, spending the night, Nubecourt,
spending a day and night, Bar-le-Duc, stopping long
enough for Thanksgiving dinner, Dammarie, spending
the night, and then to Dommartin; where we took up
temporary headquarters until we could turn in all property not destined to
come to the U. S. with us. On December 4th, 1918; we turned in
all ordnance property; which consisted of the guns and tractors; just one
year from date of drawing. December 9th; 1918; we turned in all disabled
trucks at Q.M.C. base No. 1 at Dijon. On December 11th; 1918; turned over the
remainder of trucks to Q.M.C. at Doulevant. We also
turned over our ordnance property at this place. On December 12th; 13th; and
14th; 1918; we spent making preparations to go to a port of embarkation and
on the 15th of December; 1918; we left Dommartin by
truck and proceeded to Vignory where we entrained
for a port of embarkation After a three day travel in American
boxcars we wound up at Brest; our port of embarkation. On our trip to Brest
we passed through the following large cities: St. Florentin;
Vergigny; Joigny; Cravant; Bagaines; Clamecy; Moulot; Billy-sur-Oise; Etais; Cosne; Beirjoin; St.
Pierre-des-Corps; Mettray, St. Paterne;
St. Christophe; Chateau-du-Lois; Camp Eta for U. S. Engineers; Leman, Laval;
and Morlaix. Upon arrival at Brest, we
"hiked" out about three miles to a camp of mud and water. We were
put into tents; where we remained until the 29th of December; 1918; and then
moved to Billets; where we remained until the 2nd of January; 1919; on which
date we embarked on the U. S. S. Huntington for our trip to our beloved
country. Our trip across was uneventful with
the exception of two days rough weather and the usual amount of seasickness.
We arrived safely the morning of the 14th of January; 1919; docking at 9:35
A. M. at Pier 5 Hoboken, N. J. We immediately disembarked and entrained for
Camp Merritt; N. J.; arriving there at 2:30 P. M. and going into barracks for
the time being. At 3:30 P. M. dinner was served and at 7:10 supper was served
and at 8:50 P. M. we went to the delousing station and all hands were
deloused; and God knows we needed it. Delousing process completed about ten
o'clock and we turned in for a much needed rest. The next day, January 15th,
1919; at 2 P. M.; we entrained for New York; arriving there about 5:00 P. M.;
where we took the ferry across to Sandy Hook, New Jersey; arriving there
about 7:30 P. M. and here is where I am going to leave you; patiently
awaiting your discharge from the Army, so as you may go out into the world
and make history for yourself instead of for the Battalion. And
now just a few words in conclusion. I wish to call your attention to a few coincidents. ·
We
sailed for Overseas Duty August 14th, 1917. ·
We
returned from Overseas Duty January 14th, 1919. ·
We
arrived on foreign soil September 2nd, 1917. ·
We
left foreign soil on January 2nd, 1919. ·
We
were equipped and motorized December 4th, 1917. ·
We
turned in equipment on December 4th, 1918. ·
The
Armistice went into effect at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the
eleventh month. ·
And
now just a thing or two worth remembering; That we
fired the first shot that was fired at the enemy by American troops with this
type of gun. ·
That
we fired the last shot that was fired at the enemy by American troops with
this type of gun. ·
That
we were the first American Artillery unit to be equipped and motorized in
France. That we drew and used the first eight guns of this type made for the
use of American troops. That we fired twelve thousand, five hundred and
eighty shots at the enemy. And now my last and final word: I
sincerely hope and trust that you may derive as much pleasure from reading
this as I have in putting it up in this form. I am no writer and am
uneducated but have done this at the earnest request of my many friends in
this Battalion. Thanking you one and all for your many favors and staunch
friendship through this great struggle of ours, I beg to remain, Faithfully yours, James L. Grace, Sgt. Bat. D, 57th Art. C. A. C. |
