| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
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, John Brown Anti-Aircraft Battery were part of the American contingent. Other U.S. volunteers served with the MacKenzie-Papeneau battalion (Canadian), the Regiment de Tren (transport) and in various medical groups. The name Abraham Lincoln Brigade was used to include all the U.S. volunteers, regardless of which unit they served with.
Most of the people making up the Abraham Lincoln Brigade were official members of the Communist Party USA or affiliated with other socialist organizations. The IWW, or "Wobblies", were lightly represented. However, the brigade was made up of volunteers from all walks of American life, and from all socio-economic classes. It was the first unit of soldiers made up of Americans to have an African-American officer, Oliver Law, lead white soldiers.
American volunteers began organizing and arriving in Spain in 1936. Centered in the town of Figueras , near the French border, the brigade was organized in 1937 and trained by Robert Merriman . By early 1937, its numbers had swelled from an initial 96 volunteers to around 450 members.
The International Brigade was used by the Loyalist army for several battles in Spain. They unsuccessfully defended the supply road between ValenciaThis article is about the original city in Spain called "Valencia". For other uses of the name, see Valencia (disambiguation). Valencia ( Spanish: Valencia /ba'lenθja/; Valencian: Valencia /v'lεnsj/) is a medium-sized port city (the third la and MadridThis article is about the Spanish capital. For other entries, see Madrid (disambiguation). Coat of arms Madrid the capital of Spain, is located in the center of the country at 40°25'N, 3°45'W. As of 2003 census, population of the city of Madrid proper was in the Jarama Valley from February 1937 until June 1937. They were also present at the battles of Brunete , Saragossa , Belchite , and Tereul .
The Brigade was a cause celebre in the United States, however. Liberal and socialist 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 romantic figures to an America concerned about the rise of Fascism around the world.
The war dragged on and the Fascist forces gained victory after victory over the Spanish RepublicThere have been two Spanish Republics First Spanish Republic ( 1873- 1874) Second Spanish Republic ( 1931- 1939) Franco declared Spain to be a monarchy, but did not permit a monarch until his death in 1975. Spain is not currently a republic; it is a const. The International Brigade was withdrawn from battle by the Spanish prime minister in spring of 1938Events January -June January 3 The March of Dimes is established by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. January 11 Frances Moulton is the first woman to become president of a US national bank. January 20 Wedding of king Farouk I of Egypt and Farida Zulficar in Cai. Most of the surviving Lincolns were repatriated promptly afterwards, and were welcomed home as heroes.
The legacy of the Lincoln Brigade has been a romantic vision of idealistic volunteers fighting for justice and freedom in a nation far from their own.
In the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, however, members of the Brigade were castigated as supporters of the Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR ( Russian: ; tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik (SSSR) also called the Soviet Union ( ; tr. Sovetsky Soyuz , was a state in much of the northern region of Eurasia that existed from 1922 until 1. Following World War IIWorld War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the world's nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. The war was fough, at the height of the " Red ScareThe term Red Scare has been applied to two distinct periods of intense anti-Communism in United States history: firstly from 1917 to 1920 and secondly in the early 1950s. Both periods were characterized by widespread fears of Communist influence on U.", former members of the Brigade were considered security risks, and branded "premature anti-fascists".