The Lincoln Battalion ( es, Batallón Abraham Lincoln) was the 17th (later the 58th)
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
of the
XV International Brigade, a
mixed brigade
Mixed brigade ( es, brigada mixta) was a basic tactical military unit of the Republican army during the Spanish Civil War. It was initially designed as “pocket division”, an innovative maneuverable combined-arms formation. Because of high sa ...
of the
International Brigades
The International Brigades ( es, Brigadas Internacionales) were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existed f ...
also known as the
Abraham Lincoln Brigade. It was organized by the
Communist International and named after President
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
who led the US during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
.
The Lincoln Battalion was formed by a group of volunteers from the United States who served in the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
as soldiers, technicians, medical personnel and aviators fighting for
Spanish Republican
The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...
forces against the
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
-supported forces of General
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
and his
Nationalist faction
The Nationalist faction ( es, Bando nacional) or Rebel faction ( es, Bando sublevado) was a major faction in the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939. It was composed of a variety of right-leaning political groups that supported the Spanish Coup ...
. The Lincoln Battalion integrated white and black volunteers on an equal basis. Of the approximately 3,015 volunteers from the US, 681 were killed in action or died of wounds or sickness.
History
Creation of the Lincoln Battalion
![First National Conference of the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/First_National_Conference_of_the_Veterans_of_the_Abraham_Lincoln_Brigade.jpg)
The Spanish Civil War was fought from July 17, 1936, to April 1, 1939, between the Republicans, who were loyal to the
Spanish Republic
The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...
, and the
Nationalists, a rebel movement led by General
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
.
On July 26, just eight days after the revolt had started, an international communist conference was held at Prague to arrange plans to help the Republican Government. It decided to raise an international brigade of 5,000 men and a fund of 1 billion francs. At the same time communist parties throughout the world quickly launched a full scale propaganda campaign in support of the Popular Front. The
Communist International immediately reinforced its activity sending to Spain its leader
Georgi Dimitrov
Georgi Dimitrov Mihaylov (; bg, Гео̀рги Димитро̀в Миха̀йлов), also known as Georgiy Mihaylovich Dimitrov (russian: Гео́ргий Миха́йлович Дими́тров; 18 June 1882 – 2 July 1949), was a Bulgarian ...
, and
Palmiro Togliatti the chief of the
Communist Party of Italy
The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) was a communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current ...
. From August onward aid started to be sent from Russia, over one ship per day arrived at Spain's Mediterranean ports carrying munitions, rifles, machine guns, hand grenades, artillery and trucks. With the cargo came Soviet agents, technicians, instructors and propagandists.
The
Communist International immediately started to organize the
International Brigades
The International Brigades ( es, Brigadas Internacionales) were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existed f ...
with great care to conceal or minimize the communist character of the enterprise, in the line of the Popular Front, and make clear the campaign was on behalf of progressive democracy. In keeping with Popular Front culture, the Americans named their units the Abraham Lincoln Battalion, the George Washington Battalion, and the John Brown Battery. Other countries used names like "Garibaldi" in Italy. One hundred twenty-five American men and women also served with the American Medical Bureau as nurses, doctors, technicians, and ambulance drivers.
1937
Seeking assistance in combating the armed rebellion, the Republicans asked for volunteer fighters from all over the world. Americans volunteered and arrived in Spain in 1937. Utilizing the name of Abraham Lincoln, the communist supporting men from the US formed the Lincoln Battalion, organized in January 1937 as part of the
XV International Brigade. The Lincoln Battalion initially fielded three companies, two infantry and one machine gun. Included were sections of Latin American and Irish volunteers, organized as the Centuria Guttieras and the
Connolly Column
The Connolly Column (, ) was the name given to a group of Irish republican socialist volunteers who fought for the Second Spanish Republic in the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. They were named after James Connolly, the ex ...
, respectively. After less than two months of training, the Lincolns went into action in February 1937. Many of the volunteers recalled that training as, "They give me a gun and they give me 100 bullets and they send me to fight."
[ Lyden, Jacki (October 8, 2006)]
"Spanish Civil War Volunteers Revisit Battlegrounds"
''National Public Radio''. accessed March 29, 2015.
The International Brigade were usually deployed as
shock troops, and as a result they suffered high casualties. By the end of the war the Lincoln Battalion had lost 22.5% of its strength.
The Lincolns suffered heavy losses during the
Battle of Jarama
The Battle of Jarama (6–27 February 1937) was an attempt by General Francisco Franco's Nationalists to dislodge the Republican lines along the river Jarama, just east of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War. Elite Spanish Legionnaires and Moro ...
. On February 27, 1937, the unit lost two-thirds of its strength, including their commander,
Robert Hale Merriman
Robert Hale Merriman (November 17, 1908 – ) was an American doctoral student who fought with the Second Spanish Republic, Republican forces in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. He was killed while commanding the Abraham Lincoln Battalion o ...
(who was badly wounded), in a futile assault on Nationalist positions. Merriman had begged Lieutenant Colonel
Vladimir Ćopić
Vladimir "Senjko" Ćopić (8 March 1891 – 19 April 1939) was a Yugoslav revolutionary, politician, journalist and communist leader of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia from April 1919 to August 1920.
Biography
Born into a family of mixed Croat a ...
(described as "rather inept") not to launch the attack fearing slaughter. Ćopić insisted it proceed and promised air and armoured support, which never came. Merriman was almost immediately wounded and the Battalion suffered 136 deaths. The battalion remained in combat and was slowly rebuilt while maintaining its front-line positions. The unit was finally pulled out of the lines for a brief rest before the
offensive at Brunete.
Joined by the newly trained George Washington Battalion, the XVth Brigade went into action at
Villanueva de la Cañada
Villanueva de la Cañada is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Located 30 km north-west from Madrid, the municipality covers an area of 34.92 km2. Geographically, it sits on a large plain, in which there are several promo ...
on the second day of the Brunete Offensive, and secured the town after hard fighting. The Washingtons attacked the north end of the village, while the
British and
Dimitrov battalions attacked from the south.
The XVth Brigade then deployed against "Mosquito Ridge", but, despite repeated assaults, they were unable to dislodge the Nationalist troops holding that key piece of terrain. The Lincoln's commander,
Oliver Law
Oliver Law (October 23, 1900 – July 9, 1937) was an African-American communist and labor organizer, who fought for the Republic in the Spanish Civil War. He was the commander of the Abraham Lincoln Battalion for several days and commande ...
, was killed during this action. The XVth Brigade again sustained heavy losses, and, due to the high rate of casualties, the Lincoln and Washington Battalions were merged. Thereafter, the unit was officially known as the Lincoln-Washington Battalion, though it was more commonly referred to as the Lincoln Battalion.
During August, September and October the Lincoln-Washington Battalion fought in a series of battles in the
Aragon Offensive. It fought well at both
Quinto and
Belchite
Belchite is a municipality and town in the province of Zaragoza, Spain, about 40 km southeast of Zaragoza. It is the capital of Campo de Belchite ''comarca'' (administrative region) and is located in a plain surrounded by low hills, the highe ...
. The engagement at Quinto was a combined arms action as the Lincoln-Washington Battalion was led into their second assault on the town by Russian built
T-26 tanks.
Belchite
Belchite is a municipality and town in the province of Zaragoza, Spain, about 40 km southeast of Zaragoza. It is the capital of Campo de Belchite ''comarca'' (administrative region) and is located in a plain surrounded by low hills, the highe ...
was a hard battle with house-to-house fighting that produced heavy casualties.
After Belchite the XVth Brigade was again reorganized. The newly formed Canadian
MacKenzie-Papineau Battalion joined the brigade and the veteran
Dimitrov Battalion departed. A majority of the volunteers in the "Mac-Paps" were actually Americans. On October 13, 1937, the XVth Brigade fought at
Fuentes de Ebro
Fuentes de Ebro ( an, Fuents d’Ebro) is a municipality in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2005 census (INE
INE, Ine or ine may refer to:
Institutions
* Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear research cen ...
. Men from the brigade's 24th (Spanish) Battalion rode Russian tanks into the attack. The remaining battalions were supposed to follow the tanks, but the attack fell apart as the tanks did not coordinate their advance with the infantry. Casualties were especially heavy in the 24th and MacKenzie-Papineau Battalions. After Fuentes the XVth Brigade was pulled back to a reserve position where it received its first extended period of rest and relaxation since going into combat at
Jarama.
In late December the Lincoln-Washington Battalion was alerted for service at
Teruel
Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 35,675 in 2014 making it the least populated provincial capital in the country. It is noted for its harsh climate, with a ...
. The XVth Brigade was deployed to hold the recently captured city of
Teruel
Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel Province. It has a population of 35,675 in 2014 making it the least populated provincial capital in the country. It is noted for its harsh climate, with a ...
against the expected Nationalist counterattack. The winter of 1937/38 was among the coldest on record, and many troops suffered frostbite during the campaign. The Lincoln-Washington's initially held positions overlooking Teruel that they called the North Pole. Later they moved down into the city. During January, the Nationalists launched coordinated attacks against the Republican defenses. The XVth Brigade's British Battalion and MacKenzie-Papineau Battalion both lost an entire company attempting to hold the territory. Nationalist superiority in both numbers and
materiel
Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context.
In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the specifi ...
eventually pushed the XVth Brigade out of Teruel. The XV BDE, including the Lincoln-Washington Battalion, were pulled out of the line for rest after three weeks in the lines. But before the units could get to the rest areas, their trains and trucks were stopped and they were re-deployed to the front where they participated in an offensive that was expected to relieve some of the pressure on Teruel. In a dawn attack the XVth Brigade attacked a series of Nationalist fortifications at
Segura de los Baños. While the attack was a success, the Nationalist forces did not transfer any forces away from Teruel.
1938
March found the Lincoln-Washington in reserve positions in
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...
. Their rest proved short-lived as the XVth Brigade was swept up in the disaster known as
The Retreats
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
. Nationalist forces punched through the Republican lines and drove to the sea, cutting the Republic in two. The Lincoln-Washington Battalion was dispersed, reformed and dispersed again in a confused series of holding actions and retreats in which it lost most of its personnel killed, captured or missing. Robert Merriman and Dave Doran, two of the highest ranking American officers in the XVth Brigade, were presumed captured and executed as Nationalist forces normally executed all international prisoners. The remnants of the Battalion gathered on the far side of the
Ebro River, where they were slowly reconstituted with a limited number of international volunteers from the hospitals and rear areas.
Spanish troops, many young conscripts, were drafted into the XVth Brigade's battalions to bring them fully up to strength. Spaniards were integrated into the Lincoln Battalion as early as Jarama. As the flow of volunteers decreased from North America, Spanish companies were added to the international battalions. After the Retreats, Spanish troops were integrated across all of the battalions and comprised the majority of the XVth Brigade's strength in its last action.
In July 1938, the rebuilt Lincoln-Washington Battalion participated in the
Ebro offensive. The XVth Brigade crossed the Ebro and rapidly advanced across territory they had retreated through in March and April. However, the Nationalist forces quickly rallied and the offensive stalled. The Republicans forces changed back to the defensive, contesting the area that had been captured in the offensive.
On September 21, 1938
Juan Negrín
Juan Negrín López (; 3 February 1892 – 12 November 1956) was a Spanish politician and physician. He was a leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español, PSOE) and served as finance minister and ...
, the
Spanish prime minister, announced to the League of Nations the unilateral withdrawal of the International Brigades from battle.
Juan Negrín
Juan Negrín López (; 3 February 1892 – 12 November 1956) was a Spanish politician and physician. He was a leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( es, Partido Socialista Obrero Español, PSOE) and served as finance minister and ...
, was trying to negotiate peace as his only last hope. He had been informed that the International Brigades were no longer of military value and he had the vain hope that the Nationalists would withdraw their German and Italian troops in turn. Franco would keep his Italian and German forces until the end of the war.
On November 1, 1938, International Brigadists received a warm farewell from the people in the city of Barcelona, where 250,000 people gathered to goodbye the international brigades for freedom. In a famous farewell speech, Dolores Ibárruri Pasionària declared "You are history, you are legend, you are the heroic example of solidarity and the universality of democracy".
Surviving Americans from across Spain were sent to Ripoll, where the International Red Cross and the US government verified their nationality before repatriating them. Many were able to participate in the farewell activities, including a parade in Barcelona where the International Brigades were officially disbanded. Most American volunteers returned to the US between December 1938 and January 1939. American
POWs
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war ...
were released after the fall of the Republican government, although the last POWs did not arrive in the United States until September 1939.
Composition
The Lincoln Battalion and its successor the Lincoln-Washington Battalion was manned by 3,015 Americans. While several of these volunteers also held citizenship in other countries, they identified primarily as Americans. Approximately 1,681 of these men also served in the Mackenzie-Papineau ("Mac-Pap") Battalion as heavy losses in both battalions led to mergers and transfers of men. Many of the volunteers were either first or second-generation immigrants, and the battalion was overwhelmingly white. The average age of Americans who served in the Lincoln brigade was 27. Still, there were soldiers who arrived at the age of 16. Volunteers came from 46 out of 48 states in the United States with New York City providing the single largest amount of recruits with 1/5th to 1/3rd being of or formerly from the city prior to going to Spain. Most of the volunteers who could speak Spanish were from either New York City or
Ybor City
Ybor City ( ) is a historic neighborhood just northeast of downtown Tampa, downtown Tampa, Florida, United States. It was founded in the 1880s by Vicente Martinez-Ybor and other cigar manufacturers and populated by thousands of immigrants, mainly ...
located in
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
.
Americans usually entered Spain by first emigrating to France because the United States Government was not issuing visas to Spain as part of its non-intervention policy. Few American volunteers arrived after September 1937.
Battalion members fought for many different reasons. For the 85 African-American members of the battalion, the National forces represented some of the injustices they faced back in the US. The Nationalist army largely consisted of
colonial troops from Spain's African colonies or of conscripted blacks who were desperate to escape poverty. Furthermore, Franco was supported by the Italian army and air force, which had only recently conquered the African nation of Ethiopia. Several leaders characterized the war as a crusade against the "Africanization" of Spain despite the fact that it was the Nationalists who relied on African fighters.
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...
, a journalist for the ''
Baltimore Afro-American'' at the time, wrote, "Give Franco a hood and he would be a member of the
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...
." Though the Lincoln Battalion was largely white, it was integrated.
Most of the original volunteers in the battalion were communists or Soviet sympathizers. It is difficult to list exactly how many members of the battalion were communists because political ideology was not a litmus test for serving in the war. Historians and veterans of the battalion estimate that between 50 and 80% of the battalion were actively communist. It is certain though that the vast majority of the commanding officers were communists. Unlike most of their European counterparts, the Americans in the International Brigade were much more likely to be students and to not have ever seen military service before the war.
Not all combatants were motivated by ideological or political concerns. As Mo Fishman, a veteran of the battalion, recalled in 2006, "Some men were running away from bad marital or love situations, but what united all of us was that we hated fascism." Anti-fascism, more than any other single factor, is what motivated and united the volunteers of the Lincoln Battalion.
Other American units
20th Battalion, 86th Brigade
An American company served in the 20th International Battalion that was attached to the
86th Mixed Brigade. This unit fought on the Cordoba Front. Most of the American volunteers were transferred from the unit to the XVth Brigade prior to the Brunete Offensive.
The George Washington Battalion
The Washington Battalion was the second American battalion. The unit was merged with the Lincoln Battalion during the Brunete Campaign. It was commanded by Mirko Marković and its commissar was Dave Mates.
The MacKenzie-Papineau Battalion
Two-thirds of the nominally Canadian unit were Americans. Its first commander was Robert Thompson, an American veteran of the Lincoln Battalion. Joseph Dallet, also American, was the first Commissar.
2nd Squadron, First Regiment de Tren
The Regiment de Tren was a transportation unit providing support to the Republican forces. The Second Squadron was predominately American. The commander was Durward Clark.
The John Brown Battery
This unit's official title was the 14th Battery, 2nd Group, 11th Regiment. It was a heavy artillery unit manning 155mm guns. The battery commander was Arthur Timpson, with Jack Waters as Commissar.
4th Group, 35th Battery
This unit initially manned 155mm guns but were later equipped with 45mm anti-tank guns and were included in the 129th International Brigade. The battery commander was Nathan Budish, and his Commissar was Sid Kaufman.
American Medical Bureau
![American Medical Bureau armband](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/American_Medical_Bureau_armband.svg)
Organized by Dr.
Edward K. Barsky
Edward K. "Eddie" Barsky (June 6, 1895 – February 11, 1975) was an American surgeon and political activist. Barsky is best remembered as the head of the Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee, a Communist Party-sponsored organization which ra ...
, the American Medical Bureau (AMB) recruited doctors, dentists, nurses, administrators and ambulance drivers to support the Spanish Republic. In its fund raising events the names 'American Medical Bureau to Save Spanish Democracy' and 'Medical Bureau & North American Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy' were also used.
In the United States the AMB staged events in order to try to shift public opinion away from supporting the aid boycott to the Spanish Republic imposed by the American government following the agreements of the
Non-intervention Committee
During the Spanish Civil War, several countries followed a principle of non-intervention to avoid any potential escalation or possible expansion of the war to other states. That would result in the signing of the Non-Intervention Agreement in Au ...
. In Spain the AMB was assigned to hospitals and medical centers of the Spanish Military Medical Services (''Cuerpo de Sanidad''), such as the
Gómez Ulla Military Hospital
The Gómez Ulla Military Hospital ( es, Hospital Militar Gómez Ulla), presently know officially as ''Hospital Central de la Defensa Gómez Ulla'', is a military hospital in Madrid, located in the Aluche area in the former Carabanchel quarter of t ...
in Madrid, and also to front-line locations. AMB members, who also included women, treated both international as well as Spanish combatants.
By the end of the war a majority of both the Spanish aid committees and the leadership councils of the AMB were women. Many women leaders in the aid movement were wives of either prominent American leftists or soldiers in the Lincoln Battalion. Katherine Duncan, wife to Governor La Follette's secretary, and Peggy Dennis, a communist party leader, were leaders in the active Madison, Wisconsin chapter. Marion Merriman, wife to Abraham Lincoln Battalion commander Robert Merriman (the supposed inspiration of Hemingway's hero in For Whom the Bell Tolls), was the chairwoman of the large San Francisco branch of the organization. She and one other woman, Fredericka Martin, hold the honor of being the only woman to receive officer commissions from the Spanish Republic. Evelyn Hutchins, an active member of the AMB, agitated for years to be a hospital driver on the front-lines, but Spanish Republican policies prevented women from serving on the front-line until 1938 when Hutchins won the right to serve on the front-line as a driver.
Aftermath
During and after the Spanish Civil War, members of the brigade were generally viewed as supporters of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. After returning to the United States, many joined the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB). However, the
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact
, long_name = Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
, image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H27337, Moskau, Stalin und Ribbentrop im Kreml.jpg
, image_width = 200
, caption = Stalin and Ribbentrop shaking ...
caused a division among the Lincoln Brigade veterans. Some of them, adopting the official Communist line, joined with the
American Peace Mobilization
The American Peace Mobilization (APM) was a peace group established in 1940 to oppose American aid to the Allies in World War II before the United States entered the war. It was officially cited in 1947 by United States Attorney General Tom C. Cla ...
in protesting American support for Britain and France against Nazi Germany. Others, however, persisted with the
anti-Fascist
Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...
line which they had followed to Spain. After the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the VALB changed its stance and fully backed the war. Former Lincoln-Washington commander
Milton Wolff volunteered in 1940 for the British
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...
, and arranged the provision of arms for the
European resistance organizations.
Haynes, John Earl
John Earl Haynes (born 1944) is an American historian who worked as a specialist in 20th-century political history in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. He is known for his books on the subject of the American Communist and anti- ...
& Klehr, Harvey
Harvey Elliott Klehr (born December 25, 1945) is a professor of politics and history at Emory University. Klehr is known for his books on the subject of the American Communist movement, and on Soviet espionage in America (many written jointly with ...
(September 2002)
"The myth of 'premature antifascism
'' The New Criterion''. 21 (1): 41. via The Free Library
''The Free Dictionary'' is an American online dictionary and encyclopedia that aggregates information from various sources.
Content
The site cross-references the contents of ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'', the '' ...
.
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the
U.S. government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...
considered former members of the brigade to be security risks. In fact, FBI Director
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation ...
requested that President Roosevelt ensure that former ALB members fighting in U.S. Forces in World War II not be considered for commissioning as officers, or to have any type of positive distinction conferred upon them.
In 1947, the veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade were placed on the Attorney General's List of Subversive Organizations. The veterans would be one of only five groups that would stay intact, to at least 1970, after receiving this designation.
Once the US entered World War II, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
recommended that all veterans of the Lincoln Battalion be denied military promotion so as to prevent communists from rising in the armed forces. After World War II ended, veterans of the Lincoln Battalion were denied military enlistment and government jobs. The House Un-American Activities Committee blacklisted the names of all veterans of the Lincoln Battalion. Veterans were also fired, spied upon, harassed, labeled communists to employers, denied housing and refused passports for decades.
The FBI has denied that it maintained any files on the veterans of the Lincoln Battalion, but veterans groups claim that the federal government is merely covering up its crimes.
The last known surviving member of the Lincoln Battalion,
Delmer Berg
Einsley Delmer "Del" Berg (December 20, 1915 – February 28, 2016) was an American soldier and union organizer who volunteered to serve with the XV International Brigade (nicknamed the Abraham Lincoln Brigade) during the Spanish Civil War. He wa ...
, died on February 28, 2016, at the age of 100.
In 1985 in an interview with
Scripps-Howard
The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...
editors, President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
said that most Americans believed that their fellow Americans who fought with the Loyalist forces were on the wrong side.
Anthem: "Valley of Jarama"
Members of the
XV International Brigade adapted a song by
Alex McDade
Alex McDade (1905–1937) was a Glasgow poet and labourer who went to Spain to fight with XV International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War.Jump, p 115 He was a political commissar with the British Battalion and wounded at the Battle of Jaram ...
to reflect the losses at the
Battle of Jarama
The Battle of Jarama (6–27 February 1937) was an attempt by General Francisco Franco's Nationalists to dislodge the Republican lines along the river Jarama, just east of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War. Elite Spanish Legionnaires and Moro ...
. Sung to the tune of the traditional country song ''Red River Valley'', it became their anthem.
Members
Lincoln Battalion commanding officers
* James Harris
*
Robert Hale Merriman
Robert Hale Merriman (November 17, 1908 – ) was an American doctoral student who fought with the Second Spanish Republic, Republican forces in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. He was killed while commanding the Abraham Lincoln Battalion o ...
* Martin Hourihan
*
Oliver Law
Oliver Law (October 23, 1900 – July 9, 1937) was an African-American communist and labor organizer, who fought for the Republic in the Spanish Civil War. He was the commander of the Abraham Lincoln Battalion for several days and commande ...
* Mirko Markovics
*
Steve Nelson
* Hans Amlie
* Leonard Lamb
* Phil Detro
* David Morris Reiss
* Aaron Lopoff
*
Milton Wolff
Lincoln Battalion commissars
* Phil Bard
* George Brodsky
* Archie Brown
* Dave Doran
* David E. Jones
* Fred Keller
* Fred Lutz
* Steve Nelson
*
Harry Haywood
Harry Haywood (February 4, 1898 – January 4, 1985) was an American political activist who was a leading figure in both the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). His goal was to connect ...
(Regimental Commissar)
* John Q. Robinson
* Sam Stember
* George Watt
Other notable members
![Batallón Lincoln](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/62/Batall%C3%B3n_Lincoln.jpg)
*
James Walker Benét
James Walker Benét (1914 – December 16, 2012) was an American journalist, author, and reporter for the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' and KQED. Benét was one of the last surviving veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, a group of American vo ...
– Author and journalist (''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'').
*
Alvah Bessie
Alvah Cecil Bessie (June 4, 1904 – July 21, 1985) was an American novelist, journalist and screenwriter who was blacklisted by the movie studios for being one of the Hollywood Ten who refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities ...
– Hollywood screenwriter who was one of the
Hollywood Ten.
*
Delmer Berg
Einsley Delmer "Del" Berg (December 20, 1915 – February 28, 2016) was an American soldier and union organizer who volunteered to serve with the XV International Brigade (nicknamed the Abraham Lincoln Brigade) during the Spanish Civil War. He wa ...
– Union organizer.
*
Herman Bottcher
Herman John Bottcher (born Hermann Johann Friedrich Bottcher; July 13, 1909 – December 31, 1944) was an American soldier born in Germany, who was awarded the rank of captain in two different armies, the International Brigade during the S ...
– Earned two
Distinguished Service Crosses in World War II.
*
Edward A. Carter, Jr.
Edward Allen Carter Jr. (May 26, 1916 – January 30, 1963) was a United States Army sergeant first class who was wounded in action during World War II. He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoratio ...
– Earned the
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
in World War II.
*
Carmelo Delgado Delgado
Carmelo Delgado Delgado (April 20, 1913 – April 29, 1937) was a leader of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. Delgado joined the Abraham Lincoln International Brigade and fought against the Spanish Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War. D ...
–
Puerto Rican nationalist
Throughout the history of Puerto Rico, its inhabitants have initiated several movements to obtain independence for the island, first from the Spanish Empire from 1493 to 1898 and since then from the United States.
A spectrum of pro- autonomy, ...
, among the first U.S. citizens to die in the war.
*
Leo Eloesser – Noted US thoracic surgeon.
*
Moe Fishman – co-founder and executive secretary/treasurer of the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.
*
John Gates
John "Johnny" Gates, born Solomon Regenstreif (28 September 1913 – 23 May 1992) was an American Communist business man, best remembered as one of the individuals spearheading a failed attempt at liberalization of the Communist Party USA in 19 ...
– Political commissar of the battalion, later editor of ''
The Daily Worker''.
*
Robert Klonsky – One of the defendants in the
Smith Act trial of the mid-1950s.
*
Conlon Nancarrow – Composer.
*
George Sossenko
George Sossenko (sometimes Georges Sossenko; December 20, 1918 – March 14, 2013) was a Russian-born American lecturer and activist. At age 17, he left his parents' home in Paris, France, to join those fighting against Francisco Franco's na ...
– Also fought in the
Durruti Column
The Durruti Column (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Columna Durruti''), with about 6,000 people, was the largest anarchist column (or military unit) formed during the Spanish Civil War. During the first months of the war, it became the most recogniz ...
.
*
Robert G. Thompson
Robert George Thompson (June 21, 1915 – October 16, 1965) was a distinguished US soldier who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) during World War II but was later jailed for several years for his communist sympathie ...
– Awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in World War II; among the 1950s Smith Act trial defendants.
*
Harry Wayland Randall
Harry W. Randall Jr. (December 20, 1915 – November 11, 2012) served in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade and was the Chief Photographer of the Photographic Unit of the XV International Brigade.
Early life
Randall was born in December 1915 in ...
– Chief photographer of the Photographic Unit of the 15th International Brigade.
*
William Herrick – Novelist.
*
William Lindsay Gresham – Novelist and non-fiction author particularly well-regarded among readers of noir.
*
Eddie Balchowsky
Edward Balchowsky (February 16, 1916 – November 27, 1989) was an American poet, artist, musician, composer who served in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil War. Although he lost a hand, in Spain, Balchowsky became an importan ...
– Artist, poet, & pianist, and inspiration for
Jimmy Buffett
James William Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffet ...
song "
He Went to Paris
"He Went to Paris" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was first released on his 1973 album ''A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean'' and was his fourth and final single from that album. Although ...
".
Recognition
Memorials and awards
* Currently, there are four memorials dedicated to the veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.
** The first is located on the campus of the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
in Seattle.
** The second is located in James Madison Park in
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...
.
ALBA – Announcements – Madison Monument dedication
** A third memorial to the veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade was dedicated on the Embarcadero in San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
on March 30, 2008. Among the speakers were San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fr ...
and a few of the several ALB veterans still living.
** The fourth memorial commemorates the students and faculty of The City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, City ...
(CCNY) who fought in the Spanish Civil War, including the thirteen alumni who died in that war. The memorial is located in the North Academic Center of CCNY.
In museums
In 2007, the exhibit ''Facing Fascism: New York and the Spanish Civil War'' at the Museum of the City of New York
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these i ...
examined the role that New Yorkers played in the conflict, as well as the political and social ideologies that motivated them to participate in activities ranging from rallying support, fundraising, and relief aid, to fighting—and sometimes dying—on the front lines in Spain.
See also
* American Medical Bureau
The American Medical Bureau (AMB), also known as the American Medical Bureau to Save Spanish Democracy, was a humanitarian aid institution associated to the Lincoln Battalion, providing a medical corps, nursing systems for casualties, as well as ...
* International Brigades order of battle
The International Brigades (IB) were volunteer military units of foreigners who fought on the side of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The number of combatant volunteers has been estimated at between 32,000–35,000, thoug ...
* Irish Socialist Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War
* Jewish volunteers in the Spanish Civil War
Jewish volunteers in the Spanish Civil War refers to Jews who joined International Brigades and fought in the Spanish Civil War, which erupted on July 17, 1936 and ended on April 1, 1939.
History
The fighting was between the Republicans, who w ...
* Polish volunteers in the Spanish Civil War
This article is about volunteers of Polish nationality or extraction who fought for the Spanish Second Republic in the Spanish Civil War. According to André Marty, the Comintern "chief organiser", about 3,000 Poles volunteered for the Internat ...
* Songs of the Lincoln Battalion
''Songs of the Lincoln Brigade'' is a 1940 album by several members of the Almanac Singers: Baldwin 'Butch' Hawes, Bess Lomax Hawes and Pete Seeger, along with Tom Glazer
Thomas Zachariah Glazer (September 2, 1914 – February 21, 2003) ...
* Spanish Republican Air Force
The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939.
Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics ('' Aeronáutica M ...
* Spanish Republican Army
The Spanish Republican Army ( es, Ejército de la República Española) was the main branch of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic between 1931 and 1939.
It became known as People's Army of the Republic (''Ejército Popular de la Repú ...
* Yankee Squadron
Footnotes
Sources
*
* Goldstein, Robert Justin (2009). ''American Blacklist: The Attorney General's List of Subversive Organizations''. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas.
*
*
Further reading
* Beevor, Antony
Sir Antony James Beevor, (born 14 December 1946) is a British military historian. He has published several popular historical works on the Second World War and the Spanish Civil War.
Early life
Born in Kensington, Beevor was educated at two ...
. ''The Battle for Spain'', 2006.
* Bermack, Richard. ''The Front Lines of Social Change: Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade'', Heyday Books
Heyday is an independent nonprofit publisher based in Berkeley, California.
Heyday was founded by Malcolm Margolin in 1974 when he wrote, typeset, designed, and distributed ''The East Bay Out'', a guide to the natural history of the hills and b ...
, 2005.
* Bradley, Ken ''International Brigades in Spain 1936–39'' with Mike Chappell (Illustrator) Published by Elite. .
* Brandt, Joe (Ed.). ''Black Americans In The Spanish People's War Against Fascism 1936–1939''. New York: Veterans Abraham Lincoln Brigade, no date, ca. 1979.
* Carroll, Peter N. ''The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade'', Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1994.
*
* Eby, Cecil. ''Between the Bullet and the Lie: American Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War'', New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston
Holt McDougal is an American publishing company, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, that specializes in textbooks for use in high schools.
The Holt name is derived from that of U.S. publisher Henry Holt (1840–1926), co-founder of the e ...
, 1969.
* Eby, Cecil. ''Comrades and Commissars'', University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Pres
2007.
* Geiser, Carl. ''Prisoners of the Good Fight'', Westport, CT: Lawrence Hill and Company, 1986.
* Glazer, Peter. ''Radical Nostalgia: Spanish Civil War Commemoration in America''. New York: University of Rochester Press, 2005.
* Hochschild, Adam. "Spain in Our Hearts: Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939" Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016
* Johnson, Verle B. ''Legions of Babel'', University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1967.
* Landis, Arthur. ''The Lincoln Brigade''. New York: The Citadel Press, 1967.
* Orwell, George. ''Homage to Catalonia'', 1938.
* Osheroff, Abraham. "Dreams and Nightmares", 1974.
* Rolfe, Edwin. ''The Lincoln Battalion: The Story of the Americans Who Fought in Spain in the International Brigades'', New York: Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, 1939.
* Rosenstone, Robert A. ''Crusade of the Left'', New York: Pegasus, 1969.
* Thomas, Hugh. ''The Spanish Civil War'', 4th Rev. Ed. 2001.
* Yates, James. ''Mississippi to Madrid: Memoir of a Black American in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade''. Seattle: Open Hand Publishing, 1989.
Suggested listening
* ''Songs of the Spanish Civil War Vol. 2: Songs of the Lincoln Brigade'' ( Folkways) (1962)
* ''Songs of the Lincoln and International Brigades'' ( Stinson) (1962)
External links
The Volunteer, the quarterly journal of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives
The ALBA Blog
''Some Men Put Up Their Lives''
Columbia Historical Review ''Dutch Involvement in the Spanish Civil War''
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Online guide
to the archives of the Lincoln Brigade, Tamiment Library (New York).
Finding Aid to the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, Bay Area Post records, 1928–1995 (bulk 1937–1988)
The Bancroft Library
The Bancroft Library in the center of the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, is the university's primary special-collections library. It was acquired from its founder, Hubert Howe Bancroft, in 1905, with the proviso that it retai ...
Fighting Fascism: The Americans – Women and Men – Who Fought In the Spanish Civil War
('' Democracy Now!'' show, aired April 30, 2007)
* FBI monograph
Summary Memorandum on The Veterans of The Abraham Lincoln Brigade 1937 – 1948
* McArdle, Joe.
The Spanish Civil War and the Pacific Northwest
', Great Depression in Washington State Project.
Stuyvesant's Spanish Civil War Archives
{{Authority control
African-American history of the United States military
Communism in the United States
Communist Party USA
Military units and formations established in 1936
International Brigades
Spain–United States relations
Military units and formations disestablished in 1938