From collection Jake Gillison Collection
LB2016.15.676
Crowd gathered for celebration of Conway Memorial Boulder at the Elm Street School, Camden, Maine in commemoration of the incident in Pensacola, Florida in 1861 when Navy seaman WIlliam Conway of Camden, Maine refused to haul down the American flag during the Civil War. For his patriotic action, Conway was presented with a gold medal by citizens of California. In August 1906, the Quartermaster William Conway Monument was unveiled at Camden, a granite boulder affixed with a commemorative bronze plaque "honoring his sturdy loyalty." The plaque reads as follows: WILLIAM CONWAY QUARTERMASTER U. S. NAVY A NATIVE OF CAMDEN ON DUTY AT THE PENSACOLA NAVY YARD, JANUARY 12, 1861 WAS ORDERED TO HAUL DOWN THE AMERICAN FLAG IN TOKEN OF SURRENDER HE INDIGNANTLY REFUSED HONORING HIS STURDY LOYALTY THE TOWN OF CAMDEN ERECTS THIS BOULDER TO HIS MEMORY, AND THE MAINE COMMANDERY OF THE MILITARY ORDER OF THE LOYAL LEGION OF THE UNITED STATES ADDS THIS TABLET. 1906
