Fighting Fascism: Remembering the Abraham Lincoln Battalion
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Fighting Fascism: Remembering the Abraham Lincoln Battalion
On the 90th anniversary (12/26/1936) of the first 96 Americans to go to Spain
The Abraham Lincoln Brigade consisted of roughly 2,800 American volunteers who traveled to Spain in 1936–1938 to defend the democratic Spanish Republic against General Francisco Franco's fascist rebellion, which was backed by Hitler and Mussolini. They were part of the International Brigades and became the first fully integrated U.S. military force.
Key Historical Details:
The Volunteers: Mostly recurited by the Communist Party of the USA, the group included students, workers, journalists, and intellectuals.
Integration: Decades before the U.S. military was desegregated, the Lincoln Brigade fought as an integrated unit and was commanded for a time by Oliver Law, one of the first African American commanders of an integrated American military force.
Battles & Casualties: The brigade fought in brutal engagements such as the Battle of Jarama, Brunete, and the Ebro. They suffered heavy casualties, with roughly 900 Americans dying in the conflict.
Legacy: Despite being celebrated as anti-fascist heroes, they returned to an isolationist America where they faced government suspicion and persecution during the Red Scare of the 1950s.
Briefly in 1937 there was a second American force, the George Washington Battalion, but the casualties of both were so heavy that in mid-year the two were merged. As time went on, other nationalities were admitted to the Lincoln Battalion. Its first and perhaps most noted commander was Robert Hale Merriman (1912?–38)—the son of a lumberjack, a graduate of the University of Nevada, and a former graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley—who rose to the rank of major and became chief of staff of the 14th International Brigade (which included the Lincoln Battalion); he fought in several battles and was killed in action. Of the total of about 2,800 American volunteers, about 900 were killed in action.
Write about the Spanish Civil War and the on-going fight against fascism
Deadline: December 6, 2026
Virtual Reading: December 20, 2026
Submission Guidelines: Write one poem for our Remembering John Coltrane anthology for 2026.
Keep this poem limited to 35 lines total. When determining the total line length for each poem, include spaces between stanza (ex: a poem of 5 couplets would equal 14 lines). Numbers or section breaks should also be included as lines when calculating the total line length. Count an epigraph as 3 extra lines. A line that has more than 60 characters (including spaces and punctuation) should be counted as two lines. If lines are staggered like a Ferlinghetti poem, estimate the width of the line.
The final book will be printed in 11 point Garamond font on pages that are 4.5 inches wide. Poems with lines longer than 4.5 inches may be changed or denied due to printing constraints.
For questions or inquiries, please email Larry Robin at larry@moonstoneartscenter.com