Abraham Lincoln Brigade
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Abraham Lincoln Brigade refers to a collection of fighters from the United States who served as volunteers in the Spanish Civil War as part of the International Brigade, fighting on the side of the anti-fascist Spanish Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War against the Nationalists under Franco.
The name "brigade" is something of a misnomer, as there were several American battalions organized under the Fifteenth International Brigade of the Spanish Republican army. This brigade was loosely organized by the Comintern and was made up of volunteers from nations around the globe. The George Washington Battalion, Abraham Lincoln Battalion, and John Brown Anti-Aircraft Battery were part of the American contingent. Other U.S. volunteers served with the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion (Canadian), the Regiment de Tren (transport) and in various medical groups. The name Abraham Lincoln Brigade was used to describe any American unit, regardless of which unit they served with.
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 (incorrectly) thought to be the first American military unit to be commanded by a black officer, Oliver Law.
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, and Teruel.
The Brigade was a cause célèbre in some liberal and socialist circles in the United States. Some groups organized fund-raising 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.
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.
In the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, members of the brigade were castigated as supporters of the Soviet Union. Through the period of the Hitler-Stalin pact, Lincoln 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 security risks.
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[edit] Jarama Valley Song
The U.S. volunteers of the International Brigades adopted the song Jarama Valley as their anthem. It took the tune of the famous country song, Red River Valley, with new lyrics[2].
Jarama Valley
There's a valley in Spain called Jarama
It's a place that we all love so well
It was there that we gave of our manhood
Where so many of our brave comrades fell.
We are proud of the Lincoln Battalion
And the fight for Madrid that it made
There we fought like true sons of the people
As part of the Fifteenth Brigade
Now we're far from that valley of sorrow
But its memory we ne'er will forget
So before we conclude this reunion
Let us stand to our glorious dead
The song was also translated into Catalan.
Conlon Nancarrow fought with the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.
[edit] External links
- An essay on the Lincolns
- The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archive
- 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
[edit] Further reading
- 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 pages.
- Eby,Cecil. Between the Bullet and the Lie: American Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,1969)
- Eby,Cecil. Comrades and Commissars (University Park, PA: Penn State University Press, 2007)
