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The Abraham Lincoln Brigade refers to volunteers from the United States who served in the Spanish Civil War in the International Brigades. They fought for Spanish Republican forces against Franco and the Nationalists

Contents 1 The name 2 The volunteers 3 Creation of the battalions 4 The war 5 After the war 6 Anthem: "Valley of Jarama" 7 Recalled 8 Commanding officers of the Lincoln Battalion 9 Open supporters of the Spanish Republicans 10 Miscellaneous information 11 See also 12 References 13 Bibliography 14 External links

The name "brigade" is a misnomer. In the Spanish Civil War, a brigade consisted of four to six battalions. ^[1] American volunteers mostly joined the two battalions (the Lincoln Battalion and the Washington Battalion) within XV International Brigade. The XV International Brigade was made up of six battalions of volunteers from nations around the globe, topped up with Spanish conscripts. ^[2]

As time went on, the name Abraham Lincoln Brigade became used loosely, in the United States, as shorthand to describe any unit with an American component. Volunteers from the United States also served with the Canadian Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion; the Regiment de Tren (transport); and the John Brown Anti-Aircraft Battery. North Americans also ran a very well-organized and well-equipped field hospital (funded and staffed by the American Medical Bureau to Save Spanish Democracy).

The Abraham Lincoln Brigade was made up of volunteers from all walks of American life, and from all classes. Many of the people who volunteered for the Abraham Lincoln Brigade were official members of the Communist Party USA or affiliated with other socialist or anarchist organizations. Members of the Industrial Workers of the World ("Wobblies") were also represented. It is sometimes thought to be the first American military unit to be commanded by a black officer, Oliver Law.^{[citation needed]}

American volunteers began organizing and arriving in Spain in 1936. Centered in the town of Figueres, near the border with France, the brigade was organized in 1937 and trained by Robert Hale Merriman. The Lincolns suffered from poor training and inept leaders, including both Merriman and Law, who were selected for command primarily for political reasons. The battalion only had one capable commander, Steve Nelson, who took command too late to turn it into a truly effective combat unit.

By early 1937, its numbers had swelled from an initial 96 volunteers to around 450 members. In February 1937 the European powers comprising the League of Nations Non-Intervention Committee banned foreign national volunteers.

The International Brigade took part in several battles in Spain. They unsuccessfully defended the supply road between Valencia and Madrid in the Jarama Valley from February 1937 until June 1937. They were also present at the battles of Brunete, Zaragoza, Belchite, Teruel and Ebro River.

The Brigade was a cause célèbre in some liberal and socialist circles in the United States. Some groups organized fundraising activities and supply drives to keep the brigade afloat. News of the brigade's high casualty rate and bravery in battle made them heroic figures to Americans opposing the rise of fascism. Paul Robeson was one high profile supporter, even going so far as to visit the Lincolns in the field in Spain and appearing in publicity photographs. (The XV International Brigade had its own photographic unit.)

The war dragged on and the Nationalist forces, supported by Nazi Germany under Hitler and Fascist Italy under Mussolini, gained victory after victory over the Spanish Republic, which was increasingly dominated by the Spanish Communist Party (PCE). The International Brigade was withdrawn from battle by the Spanish prime minister Juan Negrín in the spring 1938. Most of the surviving Lincolns were repatriated promptly afterwards, and were welcomed home as heroes by radicals, but viewed suspiciously by most Americans.

During and after the Spanish Civil War, members of the brigade were viewed as supporters of the Soviet Union, whether they in fact were or not. Through the period of the Hitler-Stalin pact, Communist Lincoln Brigade veterans joined with the American Peace Mobilization in protesting U.S. support for Britain against Nazi Germany.[1] During and following World War II, particularly at the height of the Second Red Scare, the U.S. government considered former members of the brigade to be security risks. In fact, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover persuaded President Roosevelt to 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.

Main article: Valley of Jarama

Members of the XV International Brigade adapted a song by Alex McDade to reflect the losses at the Battle of Jarama. Sung to the tune of the traditional country song Red River Valley, it became their anthem.

Between the years of 1936–1939, an estimated 1,000 Americans, many from New York City, died in the Spanish Civil War. In 2007, Facing Fascism: New York and the Spanish Civil War at the Museum of the City of New York examines 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. The stories of these New Yorkers will be told through photographs, letters, uniforms, weapons, and an array of personal and historical memorabilia.

• Robert Hale Merriman
• Oliver Law
• Martin Hourihan
• Steve Nelson ^[3]
• Hans Amlie

Notable members

• Herman Bottcher - Earned two Distinguished Service Cross's in World War II^[4]
• Edward A. Carter, Jr. - Earned the Medal of Honor in World War II.
• Carmelo Delgado Delgado - Puerto Rican Nationalist, among the first U.S. Citizens to die in the Spanish Civil War.^[5]

• Dashiell Hammett

• Lillian Hellman

• Gypsy Rose Lee

• Dorothy Parker

• Pablo Picasso

• Sam Yorty

• Currently, there are only two memorials dedicated to the veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. The first is located on the campus of the University of Washington in Seattle. The other is located in James Madison Park in Madison, Wisconsin.^[6]
• A Wisconsin high school student named Cody Haro won first place at the 2007 National History Day Competition for his project about the Abraham Lincoln Battalion. ^[7]

• International Brigades
• Yankee Squadron
• Irish Socialist Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War
• Polish Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War
• Jewish Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War

• Hugh Thomas, The Spanish Civil War, 4th Rev. Ed. 2001.
• Antony Beevor, The Battle for Spain, 2006.
• Cecil Eby, Comrades and Commissars, 2007.
• Brandt, Joe (Ed.). Black Americans In The Spanish People's War Against Fascism 1936-1939. NY: Veterans Abraham Lincoln Brigade, no date, ca. 1979, 63 pp.
• Carroll, Peter N.; James D. Fernández (2007). Facing Fascism: New York and the Spanish Civil War. New York University Press. ISBN 0814716814. 
• Eby,Cecil. Between the Bullet and the Lie: American Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1969)
• Rolfe, Edwin. The Lincoln Battalion: The Story of the Americans Who Fought in Spain in the International Brigades (Random House: New York, 1939), 321 pp.
• Yates, James. Mississippi to Madrid: Memoir of a Black American in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. (Seattle: Open Hand Publishing, Inc., 1989), 183 pp. 0-940880-20-2.

• The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archive
• An essay on the Lincolns
• Some Men Put Up Their Lives
• Columbia Historical Review Dutch Involvement in the Spanish Civil War
• List of Abraham Lincoln Brigade Volunteers New York University Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
• Online guide to the archives of the Lincoln Brigade, Tamiment Library (New York).
• Fighting Fascism: The Americans - Women and Men - Who Fought In the Spanish Civil War (Democracy Now! show, aired April 30, 2007)
• Facing Fascism at the Museum of the City of New York (New York Times)