Google Books now has the full content of LIFE Magazine available online.  There are two articles on American volunteers: March 28, 1938,  Americans Have Died For Democracy in Spain, pp. 56-57;  October 31, 1938,  American Fighters Against Fascism Come Home From Spanish Civil War, p. 17.

Grace Under Pressure: The Life of Evan Shipman. By Sean O’Rourke. Harwood Publishing and Unlimited Publishing, 2011.

“I owe Spain a great deal,” Evan Shipman wrote to his good friend Ernest Hemingway on his return from Spain in June 1938. Shipman’s road to war followed a unique path that was influenced by the novelist. He traveled to Europe in February 1937 when Hemingway donated ambulances to the Republican government and asked Shipman to deliver them. Shipman turned over the ambulances to the American Medical Bureau in France and attempted to travel on to Spain. Shipman, whose passport was stamped “Not Valid For Travel to Spain,” was arrested by the French border patrol and jailed for his attempt to enter Spain with volunteers for the International Brigades. During his eight-week incarceration, Shipman formed a close bond with other volunteers.

When he was released from jail, Shipman completed his journey and enrolled in the International Brigades. After recovering from wounds sustained in action at Brunete, while serving with the Washington Battalion, Shipman remained at Murcia as hospital commissar. In January 1938, he transferred to Madrid, where he worked for the Ministry of Propaganda on Voice of Madrid. In the late spring of that year, Shipman returned to the Brigades. He moved to Barcelona, where he served briefly as the editor of Volunteer for Liberty before his repatriation. After his return to the United States, Shipman joined the Veterans of the Lincoln Brigade and maintained a cordial relationship with them throughout his life, despite being essentially apolitical.

Evan Shipman might be forgotten were it not for his friendship with Ernest Hemingway. As Sean O’Rourke notes, most of what is written about Shipman in “literary histories and books about his better known friends is often incomplete, inaccurate, or just plain wrong.” O’Rourke’s well researched biography provides an engrossing narrative history of Shipman and his milieu that draws a more accurate picture of a complex character.

Shipman aspired to be a poet and author and published numerous poems and a novel; however, his indifference to financial matters, poor health, and a difficult marriage led him to make a living as a journalist. His intimate knowledge and love of horse racing, both in Europe and the U.S., led him to be memorialized as the “dean of American turf journalists” upon his death in 1957.

O’Rourke’s considerable research is evident. Over the course of five years, he delved into the archives of ALBA, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and the Sorbonne. In each chapter O’Rourke frames Shipman’s life through the people with whom he interacted. A website with additional photographs, corrections, and amplifications can be found at EvanShipman.com.

Chris Brooks maintains ALBA’s biographical dictionary of the U.S. volunteers in the Spanish Civil War.

The Last to Fall, The Life and Letters of Ivor Hickman – an International Brigadier in Spain, by John L. Wainwright’s. Hatchet Green Publishing, 2012.

From the cover photograph, of the International Brigade volunteer’s weather-beaten face to the closing lines of The Last to Fall, The Life and Letters of Ivor Hickman – an International Brigadier in Spain, John L. Wainwright beautifully intertwines the personal correspondence of Hickman into the broader context of the British Battalion.   The photograph, taken during the height of the Ebro Campaign, shows a soldier who appears to be in his thirties, with worry lines etched into his forehead and a tired squint.  The image belies Ivor Hickman’s youth. Hickman, the Chief of Observers for the English Battalion, was only in his early twenties when the photograph was taken.

Wainwright’s work takes the reader through the brief life of this almost forgotten Spanish Civil War volunteer.  The letters Hickman wrote to his wife both during their courtship and his time in Spain are the focal point of this work.   Hickman was a young man with a great deal to live for.  He was only 23-years-old and married less than a year when he died in Spain.  As his letters convey, he was committed to surviving the war, exercising every opportunity to obtain training aimed at increasing his chance of survival. Despite his training and optimism, Hickman understood the dangers of war and that one cannot ensure his own safety on the battlefield.

Hickman had an impressive education.  He attended Peter Symond’s preparatory academy on scholarship after his father, an officer in the Great War, committed suicide.  In light of contemporary psychology and the study of combat’s aftermath, it can likely be concluded that the elder Hickman suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  An outstanding student at Symond’s, Hickman was accepted to Christ’s College, Cambridge University, graduating in 1936.  While at University, he developed liberal political leanings and joined the Cambridge Communist Party.  While still a student himself, Hickman met his future wife, Juliet MacArthur, a student at Newnham College, Cambridge University.

Hickman’s letters are introspective and contain less of the propaganda element many other volunteers interjected into their memoires and correspondence.  Despite self-censorship, and strike-outs by the censors, Hickman provides a very human portrait of his service in Spain.  Wainwright provides context, adding short biographical sketches, either in the text or in footnotes, of volunteers Hickman mentions in his letters.  This element is strengthened by Wainwright’s inclusion of photographs of the volunteers when available.  Additionally he includes relevant primary sources and provides transcription.  Wainwright’s extensive research is evident and his narrative is engaging.  This book is a must read and is a worthy addition to Spanish Civil War libraries.

Chris Brooks maintains ALBA’s biographical dictionary of the U.S. volunteers in the Spanish Civil War.

The Southern Worker featuring Kenneth Bridenthal. Internet Archive.

The Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, has several pamphlets and magazines related to American volunteers in the Spanish Civil War in its online collection.  These open source documents provide access to materials normally accessible only within an archive.  All of these items were published for fundraising and propaganda purposes and provide a view of what was being consumed on the home front.  The items available include:

From a Hospital in Spain, Nurses Write. Medical Bureau to Aid Spanish Democracy, [1937]. This fundraising pamphlet includes letters, or excerpts of letters, from nurses and other female personnel in the American Medical Bureau. Letter writers include Mildred Rackley, Fredericka Martin, Rose Freed, and Lini Fuhr.  An interview with Dr. Edward Barsky is also included in the pamphlet.  Link here.

From the Cradle of Liberty to the Tomb of Fascism. The Communist Party of Eastern Pennsylvania, undated [1938]. The pamphlet publishes a collection of letters written by volunteers from Philadelphia.  Most of the letters’ authors are identified.  The list includes Earl Luppo [Leppo], Morris H. Wickman, Steve Nelson, Joe Drill, Andrew Pape, Manuel Shapiro, Joe Dougher, Martin Hourihan, Harry Walach [Wallach], and Barney Spaulding. Among the letters signed with only a first name is one signed by “Bertha.”  From the letter’s content it is apparent that this is from Bertha Kipness, a nurse from Philadelphia, who served with the American Medical Bureau. The majority of letters were written between May and August 1937. Several of the letter’s authors were later killed in action.

In addition to the letters, the pamphlet includes a list of men from Philadelphia who were killed in Spain including Joseph Seligman Jr., Luigi Barrelli[?], Morris H. Wickman, Chester Mujlianas, George Dyken, Dmitri Semenoff, John Johnson, Robert Greenleaf, Konstantinos Romanzes, Aino Petaya and Frank Watkins. It is also one of the only sources to mention John Parks, one of the first American volunteers to die in Spain. He was killed when two trucks carrying Lincoln Battalion soldiers to the Jarama Front took a wrong turn and passed into enemy lines. It notes “John Parks in the Hands of the Enemy since February 28, 1937.”  Note the date listed is twelve days after the trucks were lost on February 16th. Link here.

Letters from Spain, by Joe Dallet American Volunteer to his Wife. New York Workers Library Publishers, 1938.  A collection of Joe Dallet’s letters home to his wife, published after his death at Fuentes de Ebro. The pamphlet includes a biographical sketch of Dallet along with brief memorials by William Foster, Earl Browder, Tim Buck, Steve Nelson, and John Williamson.  Link here.

Next Step to Win the War in Spain. Workers Library publishers, January 1938. Transcripts of speeches presented by Earl Browder, Head of the American Communist Party, and Bill Lawrence, former Albacete Base Commissar.  Link here.

Southern Worker, Magazine of the Common People of the South, Vol. 5, No. 16. Chattanooga, Tennessee: Communist Party of the USA in the South, July 1937. This issue includes an article on volunteer Fred Williams’s family by Pat Barr titled “Mary And I Are Glad Our Son Went To Spain.”  Although Williams was previously identified as an African American, this article suggests he may have been Caucasian. The article focuses on the family and their working class background.  Williams did not return from Spain and it is assumed that he was killed in the closing stage of the Ebro Offensive.  Link here.

Southern Worker, Magazine of the Common People of the South, Vol. 5, No. 17, Chattanooga, Tennessee: Communist Party of the USA in the South, September 1937. The magazine features Alabama volunteer Kenneth Bridenthal on its cover and reprints a letter previously published in the Birmingham Post. Link here.

Story of the Lincoln Battalion, Written in the Trenches in Spain. New York: Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Battalion, [1937]. This is the pamphlet written by volunteer John Tisa that focuses on the first actions of the Lincolns. It is the earliest published account of the Jarama period. Link here.

Chris Brooks maintains ALBA’s biographical dictionary of the U.S. volunteers in the Spanish Civil War.

Albin Ragner and Dr. Arnold Donowa aboard the President Harding in December 1938. (ALBA Collection).

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of biographies of Lincoln Brigaders by Chris Brooks.

Albin Ragner was born on March 7, 1918, in Waterbury, Connecticut to Lithuanian immigrants Charles J. Ragner, a conveyor operator for a gas company, and the former Ann C. Kieturikies, a housewife. Later, Ragner, his parents and his brothers, Alfons and Anthony, moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. [1] There, he completed high school and began working in railroad maintenance.[2]

When Ragner decided to volunteer for the International Brigades early in 1937, a friend helped guide him through the process.  His passport was issued April 5, 1937, and listed his address as 1923 South 15th Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[3] On April 19, 1937, Ragner left Milwaukee and travelled to New York where he boarded the Manhattan for his voyage to Europe. [4] Unlike many volunteers he did not receive a medical exam.[5]

When the Manhattan docked in Le Havre, Ragner took a train to Paris.  On May 2, Ragner and a small group of volunteers departed Paris by train en route to the Spanish border.  Over the next couple of weeks, Ragner stayed in various hides as he waited to cross the Pyrenees.  At age 19, Ragner was younger than most of the American volunteers and in excellent physical condition.  He easily kept up with the guide whom he described as having “legs of iron,” while at least three other volunteers in his party had to turn back.  Ragner’s group arrived at the Spanish border guard station at dawn on May 19.[6]

A truck took the volunteers to the old fort in Figueras where they rested for one night.  The following day they boarded a train to Valencia.  After spending the night in the city’s bull ring, trucks arrived and took them to Albacete.  In Albacete, he formally enrolled in the International Brigades and was sent to Tarazona, the American training base.[7]

When Ragner arrived at Tarazona, the George Washington Battalion was there training. They enrolled Ragner as a signalman and runner.  He fought with the Washington Battalion through the Brunete campaign. When the Washington Battalion merged with the Lincoln Battalion, he was assigned to the 3^rd Company of the Lincoln-Washington Battalion.  Ragner fought at Quinto, Belchite, Fuentes de Ebro, Teruel, Seguro de los Baños and the Retreats with the Lincoln-Washington Battalion.  At the close of the Retreats he transferred to the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion’s Company 2.  He had lost all of his close friends in the heavy casualties faced by the Lincoln-Washington battalion.[8]

During the Ebro Offensive, Ragner was promoted to Corporal and commanded a light machine gun team.  On September 18, 1938, in the Sierra Caballs, he received orders to set up his gun on a ridge.  Ragner emplaced his gun and crew during the night. The following morning they were in action against Nationalist guns on a facing height.  During the fight, Ragner’s crew was killed and he sustained a wound to his right leg.  A fellow volunteer risked his life to pull Ragner from his exposed position enabling him to be evacuated.  Ragner remained hospitalized until eventually evacuating to France.[9]

Ragner returned to the U. S. on December 31, 1938, aboard the President Harding.  He was sent to the Jewish Hospital in the Bronx for additional assessment and treatment.  The leg wound, which did not fully heal until 1940, prohibited Ragner from serving in the military during the Second World War.  During the early years of the war, he worked as a seaman on the Great Lakes. In November 1941, after two years on the job, he experienced a complete physical collapse.  After his physician advised Ragner to avoid working in shops or plants, he began studying drafting at the Milwaukee Technical Training School.[10]

On January 3, 1942, Ragner married Claudine Halliwell.  They had three children together Daniel in 1946, Allison in 1948, and Johnathan in 1954.  His family enjoyed camping and purchased a lake house for vacations.[11]

In 1950, Ragner found employment as a draftsman in the Engineering department of the Oilgear Company, in Milwaukee.  He remained with the company until his retirement in 1982.  Ragner became a Master Mason in 1980 and was very active in Masonic activities until his death on April 3, 1996.[12]

Later in life, Ragner wrote a short memoir, which we transcribe here:

Memoir Albin Ragner a. k. a. Albin Ragausky

This is the story of my service in the Spanish Civil War during the years 1937 and 1938 as a soldier in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade of the 15^th Brigade of the International Brigades.

I became very interested in Spain, especially when the country erupted into civil war.  I felt that the Spanish people were fighting for their democratic republic, against General Franco’s forces who were in open revolt against a duly elected government.  The people of Spain were going to suffer repression by this fascist and his armed forces, and this later became fact.

I decided to volunteer for the International Brigades, in existence in early 1937.  After the battle of Guadalajara was fought and over with, I departed for Spain, leaving Milwaukee on April 19^th of 1937.  I was 19 years old at the time.  I left for New York to contact people who would help me to cross to the Spanish conflict.  I was in New York for about five days.  I had just enough money to cross to France and no more. [1] I paid my fare over on the S. S. Manhattan.

I was told the contact would meet me at the dock in Le Havre, France.  I arrived there about the 27^th of April and was taken to Paris by train.  The guide spoke French and English.  I stayed in Paris until May 2, 1937.  I left Paris by train for a town north of Lyons, France, and from there a bus took us to a village in the Jura Mountains 20 miles from Lake Geneva.  About three days later we left by bus for the rail line, and from there were taken to Lyons.  After two days in Lyons, we went on to Agde, France, on the Mediterranean coast.  At that time, it was a small fishing village and market.  The fishing boats came back from a day’s fishing with fish and squid.  From Agde we could see the Pyrenees.

We left Agde by bus for Perpignan near the border on the French side.  We stayed under cover for three days, during which time our group was broken up into groups of three men as we were too many for any one home to shelter us.  In the night of the fourth day we moved to a building under construction, where a truck picked us up and took us to hilly terrain.  We were concealed in rough terrain and spent the day here.  When dusk came a French-Spanish guide arrived.  First he fed us.  Then he instructed us to be quiet, we were to cross a large farm.  We were informed a road in front of the farm was patrolled by the French border patrol.  After crossing the road in a rush , we were in the foothills.  Our guide told us there would only be one brief stop and then on to the Spanish border guard station.

The view from the top of the mountains was spectacular.  We saw the lights of one town far below.  I was cold.  We lost three stragglers.  I was the third man in line and kept up with the guide and second man.  The guide had legs of iron – the worked like pistons.  I was in tiptop shape for this climb and came out fine.  We arrived at sunrise at the guard station.

A truck picked us up and we went down a very winding road, arriving a Fort Figueras in Catalonia, Spain about 10:00 a. m. on May 19, 1937.  We stayed here one night and a truck took us to a railroad station where we boarded a train to Valencia and stayed in a bull ring overnight.  Then, on by truck to Albacete, the city where arrivals were sorted for final destinations.  Being American, I was taken to Tarazona.

Tarazona

I found the Washington Battalion had been in training a couple of months.  In this case I was placed in the signal squad which I didn’t enjoy.  Anyway, I received intensive training in late May and early June.  I very much wanted to be in a rifle company but ended up a signalman and battalion runner. Though the training was speeded up, I didn’t mind.

It was at Tarazona I met two Lithuanian Americans from Worcester, Massachusetts.  These were Tony Mazurka and his buddy Jay-Jay.[2] We filled in our evening hours at the Vino Casa. Tony, so easygoing and happy was a joy to be with and so was Jay-Jay.  Also with us were Tom Danek,[3] a Canadian from Windsor, Ontario who was from a miner’s family and Ben Goldring[4] from New York. Another Lithuanian was Chesna[5], a big fellow.  These companions were the highlights of my stay in Tarazona, which was about 20-25 miles from Albacete.   The townspeople were good to us and we were good to them.

About June 28, we packed up and loaded trucks with machine guns and ammunition for the 4^th Company, the machine gun company.  In the last week of June 1937 we were moved up behind the Jarama front at Madrid.  We were located in a large olive grove very close to the Tahunia River[6].  Here, looking up at the hills before us we could hear and see Franco’s artillery shelling the Republican Army positions.  One night it rained awfully hard as both fascist and our artillery opened up.  We were ordered to stand by out in the rain and marched to the hills where the artillery was firing.  The only thing that balked our march was the fact that the bridge had been submerged by the torrent of rain.  We linked our arms to keep from being swept away in the river.  We finally got across, formed in squads, and advanced through the mud at a slow pace.  Dawn seemed to come awfully slow but it did come.  The artillery duel subsided and we tried to dry out.  Action here at the front died down.

Around July 2, 1937 trucks picked us up at night and took us to another sector of the Madrid front.  We were dumped on a road and slowly marched at dawn.  I saw one road sign showing El Escorial going to our left.  We kept going ahead.  The terrain here was very rough with huge boulders strewn all around where a stream coursed through a ravine.  We were told to be alert to high flying reconnaissance aircraft of the enemy, to freeze and blend with the rocks and not look up, to avoid detection.

Brunete

On the 5^th of July we were issued cognac rations, one cup, so we knew the hour had come.  On July 6 our artillery bombarded Villanueva Canada and our air force strafed enemy positions. The Lincoln Battalion was in front of us. We were in single file on both sides of the road.  Then we left the road and advanced to our left through rough ground.  The Lincolns were in a ravine, slowed up by enemy fire.  The Washington began a flanking movement to the right and began crossing a wheat field.

Here Leo Kaufman[7] was wounded in the lung.  Another soldier and I positioned ourselves on each side of him and eased him to safety.  The bullets were snapping around us.  We had no cover.  Two stretcher-bearers then took over. We resumed our advance until we came to a road leading to the north end of Canada.  Along the side I saw one of our men dead.  He had the rear part f his head blown off, a real mess.

We were ordered not to enter Villanueva Canada but skirt it and advance north of the town along the main highway.  Here we saw where our air force had shot up enemy reinforcements. We advanced about ten miles and turned left on a dirt road.  Here began a series of low hills and here we encountered enemy sniper fire.  We sent flankers to flush them out.

We now headed west for the Guadarrama River about twelve miles distant and stopped just short of the river.  Overhead an aerial dogfight ensued, about two hundred planes engaged in combat.  Our field kitchen was bombed.  We waited until night and were fed tinned beef.

Around July 7, 1937 we crossed the dried up Guadarrama River.  It was very hot.  We met enemy forces on the hills beyond the river, overrunning their slit trenches.  These troops were the Spanish Foreign Legion (Portuguese).  We forced them to retreat with six Russian tanks blasting away at them.  I stopped beside one dead Portuguese soldier and came up with a can of anchovies.  They tasted great.

In this engagement my buddy Tom Danek was wounded in the thigh.  He was laying telephone wire. Tom was an exceptional soldier.

I also met Robert Browning[8], another Canadian.  Robert Browning was considerably older than any of us, and what floored me was he had been in France in World War I.  He was with the Canadian forces at that time and fought at the battle of Vimy Ridge.  He told me he didn’t mind artillery fire but dreaded bombers dropping bombs.  I told him he did not belong here with us.  He was too old.  I convinced him to get out of the battalion and go home. He did so.

To get back to the action here, we advanced over the hills just west of the river and ran into Moorish troops who gave us serious opposition.  At the top of these hills we could see Mosquito Ridge of the Guadarrama Mountains.  As we approached these low mountains, Moorish sniper fire increased.  One of our company commanders, Hans Amlie,[9] borrowed a rifle for a moment, steadied it on a fellow’s shoulder and brought down a Moorish sniper out of a tree.

When we reached Mosquito Ridge we were stopped just short of midway up.  Here our casualties were heavy.  We suffered a lot of men with head wounds.  We had to dig in with our helmets.  You would be surprised how fast you can dig with a helmet when forces to do so.  We were in an awful situation here:  Moors about 60 to 70 yards ahead.  Getting our wounded out was extremely dangerous.  We were thus held up for about nine days.  We were relieved by some Marineros (Marines)[10] from Catalonia. This was done at night.  One thing I want to mention is that all the men in the battalion carried bayonets on their rifles, and we were trained in their use.  I appreciated that.

To the south of us a threat arose at Villanueva del Pardillo.  We ate quickly and set off along the Guadarrama River banks in an all night march.  We reached some hills and along the crest were trenches which we occupied.  We relieved a company of Spanish troops at this area.  We had no breakfast that morning, but at noon some food arrived by mules.  Sidney Graham[11] of New York and I were given field glasses (one pair) and told to watch.  I watched for about fifteen minutes and handed them to Sidney. A minute later he fell to the bottom of the trench, dead.  He had a bullet hole in his forehead.  I realized it could have been me.  The enemy troops opposite us were Moors, and they were excellent shots.

For two days nothing of action by the enemy developed so we were ordered back to the are we had left.  Other Spanish troops took over at night.  It was morning and dawn was breaking before we neared our destination, when we heard the heavy drone of bombers.  We knew we didn’t have such heavy planes.  They saw us. I looked up once and saw about twenty bombers flying in groups of threes.  The first ones released their bombs.  I saw those bombs slanting down on us, then turned face down. The bombs exploded around us.  I was flung up from the concussion.  It threw me around like a rag doll.  The planes that followed released their bombs.  For ten minutes or so the world seemed upside down.  The concussion is unspeakably devastating on men.

The bombers made only one mistake – - they crossed at a 90 degree angle.  Otherwise our casualties would have been horrendous.  We did suffer half a dozen dead.  One was a nice guy called McQuarry[12].  He was badly mangled. We buried him in the sand of the river bed.  The enemy artillery fired at the dust cloud rising above our position. They sounded puny compared to the bombs of the planes.  This was the first aerial bombardment of many I was to be a target of.  They were awesome, especially the shrill whistle of the bombs coming down.

When we arrived at our destination on the river bank at about 8:00am, we were told food was coming and it did.  We were enjoying it when who comes streaming by but the marineros of Catalonia in retreat.  We grabbed our rifles and took positions along the bank.  The enemy bullets and shells hit our area very soon after.

I took up a position in a wooded area which had a good view of a good stretch of the river and began to snipe. One officer of the enemy caught my eye.  His uniform had a red stripe on the pants, which were blue.  I drew aim and hit him with the first shot.  He fell over a rise of the river bank.  I fired five more shots and his body jerked.  It was then that troops attempted to remove his body. Whoever that officer was he was of high rank.

We battled all day at this spot.  At night we formed two platoons of seven men each.  I led one group and Chesna led the other.  Chesna and his men ran into a large group of enemy soldiers and he was killed. He was a great fighter.  Tony Mazurka was wounded in the side in this action.

The front stabilized and we were replaced by Spanish troops.  In all these actions we lost over three hundred men killed and wounded.  The Lincolns lost even more.  We then marched back about eight miles to a reserve position among olive trees.

The next day we heard the drone of bomber engines: twelve Junkers bombers flying above the main road. Across the road from us was a Czechoslovakian antiaircraft unit which opened up on the planes.  They hit the lead plane which exploded into a white cloud or puff.  All we saw was a fragment of a parachute with parts of a body still attached.  What a weird thing.

We were taken by bus to Tarazona, the base for the Washingtons.  Here we were made into one battalion and called the Lincoln-Washington Battalion.  We retrained for our battles to come.  I was assigned to the third company.  The company commander was Arnold Staub[13], a short, lightweight man who had been a jockey back in the States.  He sure was a tough commander.  I knew he would do well.  One thing he sure liked was Malaga wines.  So did I, only that is a dark, sweet wine and gives one a bad hangover.

Quinto

Our retraining ended in about the middle of August, 1937.  Trucks were boarded and off we went at night.  We went a long way, arriving on the Aragon front, and disembarked into a wooded area.  Around August 27 we positioned very near to three batteries of our antitank guns, which began firing at enemy fortified positions over a main road.

We saw enemy troops take up positions west of a church cemetery. We attacked them and drove them into the church.  Our anti-tank guns were then turned on the church which the enemy fired from.  Six of us ran to a position north of the church.  We climbed through a window into the church vestry.  The door leading to the church was open.  I had six grenades with me like the others of our group.  I then made the mistake of stepping into the doorway and yelling, “Manos arriba.” They were lined up against the opposite church wall.  They turned their rifles toward me and I ducked back fast as the bullets hit the wall.  I was lucky then.

We crawled out and told our commander the enemy wasn’t going to surrender.  He telephoned the antitank group for more gunfire.  By this time the west side was only rubble.  Our antitank guns fired about a half hour more before they surrendered to us.

We had to see if there were any stragglers still left.  Not a pleasant job. We had to go up in the tower with our hand grenades at the ready.  Tom Danek and I saw that a position in the cemetery would give us a good field of fire into the fortified trenches covering the main road.  We could observe them scuttling along their trenches.  We kept this up well past noon and then they waved a white flag and surrendered.

We heard gunfire in the valley near a cement factory by the main road. The commander of the 3^rd Company said it was the Dimitrov battalion cleaning up on Moorish troops.  We took about 125 troops off the fortified position.

That night Tom Danek, I and our company slept along the side of the church. The next morning our trucks picked us up and moved us in a northwesterly direction.  It had taken us three days to take Quinto. Our trucks passed by with piled up bodies of dead Moorish soldiers.  They had been doused with gasoline.  The stench was horrible.  We arrived north of Belchite about September 1, 1937. Our trucks dumped us and departed.  They never stayed long because of enemy aircraft.

Belchite

We were about five miles north of Belchite.  We approached in combat formation to the outskirts and in sight of the Roman Catholic Church, which was the dominant building.  We soon were receiving gunfire from the church tower. Our company, in spread formation, advanced up terraces led by Arnold Staub, commander of 3^rd Company. Advance was slowed by heavy gunfire from the church tower. I had a full supply of grenades in a shoulder bag.  I went over the rubble tossing grenades. Others did the same and so did another group from the west side of the church.  This group lost Dan Hutner,[14] killed by sniper fire.

We were close to the church on the north side.  It had a square tower. We made our breach through this wall amidst rubble which our antitank and artillery caused.  We scooted over the rubble throwing hand grenades to blast enemy troops before us.  This type of fighting is extremely dangerous.

We forced them into houses on a street leading to the church.  We stayed fifty yards from these houses protected by a wide and deep gully. We had reached this point exhausted.  I fell asleep and just before dawn a fellow shook me awake and said ten minutes and over we go.  We made the charge and broke into two houses.  Grenading our way through, everything seemed to explode into the explosions.  When grenading a house he had to keep from getting into the house at the wrong time, or we too would die from the concussion.

The first house I entered I made a mistake.  I took a quick peek out the front door.  Across the street on a roof an enemy soldier tossed a grenade which landed at my feet.  I was paralyzed with fear, then I took a running start and dove out the rear door.  That was one of my lucky days.  The grenade wan an Italian concussion type.  It is very unusual for a grenade to be a dud.  I sure think someone was watching over me.

Anyway, we forced the enemy out house after house, compressing the enemy to the central plaza where the main buildings were.  We fought them here for about three days.  One night the enemy used women and children as a shield, this in the very early morning before dawn. We couldn’t fire at the troops because of the danger of killing civilians.  We were helpless.

Dan Hutner, a front line buddy of mine, lost his life in a courtyard between the church and a factory.  He was from New York.  He was an inspiring man and a terrific fighter.  I could never forget him even after all these years. When I first came home from Spain, I was in the Jewish Hospital in the Bronx, New York.  His brother, Leo Hutner, came to see me.  I told him what happened.  I had buried him near the church at Belchite.

Our losses were heavy in the seven days of fighting.  Hans Amlie, our battalion commander, was relieved of his command because he couldn’t bear such huge losses of life.  He was replaced by Steve Nelson.  We were relieved by Spanish troops. After September 7, we had a brief respite through September.

Fuentes de Ebro

About the eighth or ninth of October we were transported to Pina, which had been taken by the Lister Division. From here we marched northwest to just three miles from Fuentes de Ebro.  Fuentes de Ebro was a town twelve miles from Zaragoza, our ultimate objective.

We dug in to positions near Fuentes de Ebro.  Enemy trenches were 300 yards off.  We could see the church tower in Fuentes de Ebro. To the right of where I was, the ground dropped off thirty feet down into a flat area.  Our trench was dug to cover a grape vineyard and a railroad.  On the opposite side, enemy Moorish troops occupied a low building.  We could hear them sing in the Moorish tongue.  On two nights, we got up to the railroad bank and flung hand grenades at their building.  That quieted them down.

Around the fourteenth of October we were told we would attack the enemy position and go for Fuentes de Ebro. On the fifteenth of October we were ready to attack at 6:00am.[15] We were to have the support of Russian tanks. It wasn’t until 10:00am they showed up.  Much too late.  They maneuvered for position and went right over our trenches.  We could not keep up with them.  That goofed everything up.  The tanks drew antitank guan and artillery fire. We followed after and ran up against intensive machine gun and rifle fire.  We were stopped. I took cover behind one of our disabled tanks.  The turret was blown off and also the driver’s head.  The crew was dead.  We lost twenty-three tanks out of fifty.  By not being able to take Fuentes de Ebro we lost our chance to take our main objective, Zaragoza.

We lost another Lithuanian American Jay-Jay from Worcester, Massachusetts.  I wish I knew his name.  We gained no ground by attacking too late in the morning.  The enemy was reinforced heavily.

After the actions subsided, I was given a 48 hour leave to Barcelona.  In all my eighteen months of action in Spain I was given a total of 96 hours leave.  I bought a jacket which looked like Eisenhower’s jacket in World War II.  I have a picture of myself in the jacket.  Our battalion had moved out to a reserve position when I returned.  The trip from Fuentes de Ebro to Barcelona took five hours.

Teruel

We stayed in Tarazona until about the middle of December, 1937. About the eighteenth of December we were transported north of Teruel to a place called Cuevas Labradas. At this time I was in the 3^rd Company of the Lincoln Battalion.  We were put into an unfinished railroad tunnel to hide us from enemy aircraft.  The temperature was intensely cold – - about 5 or 10 degrees below zero, and the wind blew through the tunnel.  At night we gathered wood to burn for warmth.  It was almost impossible to keep warm.

We were soon after taken and guided to old dugouts north of Teruel. We pushed back enemy lines about a mile.  The fascist troops launched an attack on our Spanish 24^th [59^th] Battalion, making their position hard to hold.  When we launched an attack into the flank of these troops, we sure halted their attack.  They must have been a regiment.  We scored on them heavily and they retreated, leaving a lot of dead.  I didn’t know General Lister[16] was watching our counterattack and he commended our action as saving the 24^th [59^th] Battalion.  That was the highest praise one could get in Spain.  He was the highest division commander in Spain and his division was the best known.

After this action, we were moved into Teruel about December 21or 22.  What a grim looking place.  They claimed there were still some enemy hiding in the town.  We took up positions to the left of the Lister Division and the 43^rd Division, a tough outfit.

We were behind a cement wall in an old factory. The enemy positions were only fifty yards away from us.  It was awfully dangerous to even look at their positions.  Charles Lisber[17] from New York City was killed here.  He tried to move forward and was spotted and killed, his liver shot out.  Captain Phil Detro[18] from Texas, a former U. S. Marine, was mortally wounded trying to snipe from the second floor of a building.  About the end of December, we were in reserve position.

Segura de los Baños

Sometime in February of 1938 the Lincolns were transported to the Huesca front in a sector called Segura de los Baños.  Here there were fortified trench hill positions which overlooked a road and a small town.  These trenches were occupied by Franco forces.  They could shell the road and town.  The enemy forces were under the command of an Italian captain. His troops numbered about 150 men, Spanish soldiers.

We were position for the assault before dawn.  The Mackenzie-Papineaus were with us in this attack.  One of our men had been on leave before reaching the area.  He wore a red beret.  At dawn we were ready to attack and advanced on them.  The fellow with the red beret confused the enemy.  They thought we were the Requetés, their troops.  We fired on them and they dove into their trenches. We crept up on their parapets, flinging hand grenades. After that we jumped into their trenches killing a number of them.  They soon surrendered.

Tom Danek from Windsor, Ontario, was wounded on top of the parapet, his wrist shattered.  That ended Spain for him. Also, Tony Mazurka was wounded a second time.  I talked to him before they carried him down a path.  The enemy artillery got our range and shelled our positions.  One shell landed where Tony Mazurka was being evacuated and killed him. This was a devastating blow to me.  I lost a very dear friend.  Time and again I remember him, a Lithuanian American who fought bravely.

Retreats

About the fourth or fifth of March, 1938; we were again sent to Belchite, occupying the factory west of the church where Dan Hutner was killed in Belchite’s capture.  The following day early in the morning we received orders to move out and head south on a road west of town.

We marched southwest and noticed a large concentration of soldiers and artillery.  The guns opened up on us.  Our Finnish machine gunners of the 4^th Company set up their machine gun.  They were killed shortly after.  They sacrificed their lives for us.

Our battalion headquarters was dive bombed by Stukas, and large numbers of enemy aircraft attacked us.  I escaped by heading into an olive grove, made a large semicircle, and again was on the road south.  A number of us took this route.  We tried to contact the Mackenzie-Papineaus but fascist tanks on a bluff fired on us forcing us to leave the road.  Our rifles were ineffective on the tanks.  These were German tanks.

The following action took place west of where the tanks fired on us.  Twenty-three enemy planes strafed us.  This was the start of the retreat at Belchite on the Aragon.  I am convinced there had been treachery in the higher command.  It looked like a well laid plan to annihilate the Internationals.  The retreat bled us white; we lost so many men in those hills.  We fought where we could, but without flankers we were lost.  The enemy was overpowering in their drive, with tanks, planes, artillery and troops.

A number of times we were strafed.  We retreated. I never once lost my rifle or ammunition, to me it meant life.  Without a gun or ammo you are nothing, only to be buried. Several times we grouped and fought, but the enemy kept outflanking us.  The meant fight and retreat, all the way back to the coast.  I turned north from Tortosa, a coastal city.  We sure were demoralized.

At this time I’d like to mention an incident involving Bob Merriman[19] our brigade commissar [Chief of Staff].  We were about eight or nine miles east of Gandesa during the retreat.  We were on a high hill, good for defense.  We had about 100 to 120 men here.  We heard what sounded like tanks behind the hill to our front.  I said to him, “It sounds like enemy tanks ahead.”  He said, “It can’t be, they must be ours.”  He didn’t heed what I said and Merriman and two others went to the hill and over.  He was captured there.  Later the fascists executed him.

At this time Leo Kaufman from New York City returned from the hospital.  He had been wounded on the Brunete front battle at Villanueva Canada.  We saw some enemy troops to our right.  They were trying to outflank us.  Leo went to check it out and we heard shooting.  Leo never came back.

Shortly after, Italian troops attacked with whippet tanks.  We fired through their gun slots but were not able to stop their attack.  We held them back for an hour and then were forced back.  I was almost hit here.  I was lucky.  The bullet passed right between my legs.  By the second week of April, 1938, the retreat had reached the Ebro River.  Stragglers were rounded up from all over and grouped into combat units.  We were sure a miserable lot by then.

I would like to mention one of our men of the Lincoln Battalion, Joe Sych,[20] a Ukrainian Canadian.  He was killed by a bomber in the vicinity of Mora de Ebro on the east side of the river.  He was a very likeable fellow.  We had a group of Ukrainians from Canada.  Their voices were heard in song either at night or on the march.

Ebro Offensive

At this time I had requested a transfer to the Mackenzie-Papineaus and got it.  There were not many of our men from Brunete left alive.  On July 25, 1938 we re-crossed the Ebro River in row boats.  I was in the Mac-Pap Battalion in the 2^nd Company.  Our company commander was Henry Mack[21], a very capable man.  I had complete confidence in him.

We were just north of Mora de Ebro when we crossed the river.  The firs town we attacked was Ascó.  An observation plane flew overhead, and we fired on it.  We cut west of Ascó and the river parallel to the Corbera-Gandesa road.  Gandesa was our objective.  Troops of our brigade were to the south of us.  We advanced over desolate dry country.

We marched about eight or nine miles, moved south and ran into some Dombrowski troops who were pillaging an enemy supply depot.  We crossed behind them to the south.  We went up a series of hills toward a peak, the highest point, and made contact there with Moorish troops who fired on us.  We lost Whitey Wahl[22] here. We were bombed on these slopes by Junkers bombers.  I found that the high peak was called 481.  The English battalion to our left tried to take peak 481.  We gave them cover fire, but the slope was at too sharp an angle to reach the top of 481.  The enemy lobbed hand grenades among our English battalion.  It came to nothing accomplished.  We had several night flare-ups.

Our contact was poor with the Dombrowskis.  I was sent over to make contact and I almost ran into enemy troops moving back to different positions.  Their clothes looked different and I was suspicious.  That was a close call.  I did contact the Dombrowskis and told them we were on their left flank.

We stayed on these slopes near the high peak until about August 4, 1938.  We were then transferred south of hill 481 on another road to the Sierra de Pándols, 666 meters (2138 feet) high. We were to relieve the Lister Division who were up there twenty days and bombed every day.  We moved up at night.  There was only one narrow path up to the top.  I wondered how they got the wounded out and food up those terrible positions.  The place was sheer rock.  This place was a nightmare.  It was cold at night up there.  The Lister troops come off first and then we went up.  They were glad we were relieving them.

One thing I would like to mention is that the view from the top of the Sierra de Pándols was very beautiful looking eastward toward the Ebro river.  A road could be seen winding to the river.

On top of the Sierra de Pándols we faced the Spanish Foreign Legion.  Their positions were about 150 yards off.  You had to cross a deep valley and then climb up to their position. One thing, we could not dig trenches here.  We piled rock and used that to fire form.  We were bombed two or three times a day.  The fragments of bombs exploding on rock is awesome.  You were extremely lucky not to be hit by shrapnel and stone.

I would like to mention something  I had noticed for a long time.  General Juan Yague, who commanded the Nationalist Army of Africa, always attacked us with Moorish and Foreign Legion troops lined side by side.  This was always the case.  Our 24^th [59^th] Battalion was bombed heavily on the Pándols.  I remember one incident.  One of the men in the Mac-Paps kicked a dud 105 shell to roll it away.  It exploded and we didn’t need to bury him.

We found dead, unburied bodies all over.  Rocks were piled on them.  You could not dig graves. Tiny Anderson[23] was killed here. He was a machine gunner.  A good one, too.  When dawn broke over the Pándols, enemy bombers unloaded their lethal loads. These positions were pure hell.  The enemy used Italian mountain howitzers to blast our positions.  We found that our opposing troops were the Spanish Foreign Legion, good fighters.  We captured one at night in no man’s land as he was relieving himself.

Henry Mack promoted me to corporal of a light machine gun.  Prior to this I was leading night patrols into no man’s land.  We held these positions for nineteen days.  We sure were glad when the 43^rd Division men relieved us.  Those were very nasty positions to occupy.  We were given a rest near Corbera.

Finally, we were rushed up the Gandesa road, where the front had erupted into action.  We went into action to the right of the Gandesa road at a place called Sierra Caballs.

Henry Mack wanted my light machine gun on a high ridge not far from the road.  The ridge was long, running north.  We waited and ate lightly.  As soon as the sun went down and dusk came, my gun crew and I moved down and then up this ridge.  The action came fast.  The enemy machine gun opened up on us when we reached our position.  We fired at gun flashes.   My crew was killed and I had to fire my gun.  A burst of machine gun fire from them hit in front of my face and I rolled to the left.  The next burst his near my right side.  As I jumped to my left their machine gun bullets hit my leg, bowling me over.

Our troops to the north of my position were called back to their former attack station.  I was out on this shoulder of the ridge alone.  The moon was bright.  The enemy were gradually working their way down.

Henry Mack told Patrick O’Hara,[24] of Calgary, Alberta, what had happened to my gun crew.  I couldn’t get up.  Patrick O’Hara called quietly and saw what a bad situation I was in.  He took my wrist and dragged me off the ridge to a safer spot.  He got hold of stretcher bearers to carry me to an ambulance.  I was wounded on September 19, 1938 in the Sierra Caballs.  If it hadn’t been for Patrick O’Hara I wouldn’t be alive today.

I was taken across the Ebro, where my old comrade Ben Goldring on New York saw my leg and sent me to the base hospital at Tarazona.  I was operated on there and sent to the hospital in Barcelona.  Two weeks there and I was sent to Santa Coloma de Franes, France[25] by hospital train.  I was in the hospital in Paris for about ten days.  From there I was sent to New York, arriving on New Year’s Eve, 1939.  I spent ten days in the Jewish Hospital in the Bronx.

Reflecting on the conditions I saw in Spain, the people were willing to fight Franco.  However, the various parties, including the socialists, communists, anarchists and the labor unions, did not do the Republic any good with their attitudes and bickering.  Each was trying to be the lead group.  There was too much politics.  The Spanish troops fought bravely.  The Lister Division, the Campesinos, the 43^rd Division, and the Catalan troops were exceptional.  I felt the embargo hurt us.  Also, Germany under Hitler and Mussolini’s troops, planes, tanks and artillery did swing it for Franco.  The Portuguese government aided Franco.  The Spanish Foreign Legion with thousands of Moorish troops helped very much to defeat the cause.

One of the great moments of my time in Spain came as I was leaving on the hospital train.  Looking out of the train window I saw a peasant and his wife holding a baby.  The husband was holding a Spanish Republican flag, and they waved.  That to me was an emotional moment.  I felt everything I had been through was worth my suffering.

I heard through The Volunteer of Mirko Markovich’s death[26].  I feel very sad to hear this.  He was my original battalion commander.  He was the finest soldier I know, always caring for all of us men.  He was loved by his men.

Chris Brooks, a long-time member of the ALBA Board, maintains ALBA’s biographical dictionary of the U.S. volunteers in the Spanish Civil War.

[1] http://www.ancestry.com/1940-census/usa/Wisconsin/Albin-Ragner_2p4cfd.

[2] ARP Survey Response

[3] Subversive Activities Control Board (SACB).

[4] IBID.

[5] IBID

>[6] Ragner Memoir.

[7] IBID.

[8] Letter from Ragner to Brooks, March 20, 1995.

[9] Unpublished Memoir.

[10] Goldring draft of his article on Ragner, provided by Ragner and ARP Survey response.

[11] IBID.

[12] IBID and Card from Claudine Ragner to Brooks, postdated 2 January 1997.

End Notes

[1] Ragner most likely travelled on a group ticket purchased through the Soviet travel agency.   The funds he mentions were likely a small amount of spending money issued to each volunteer to show they were not indigent so they would be allowed to enter France.

[2] Anthony Mazurka was born on January 16, 1915, in Wheelwright, Massachusetts.  He was a single steelworker living in Worchester, Massachusetts when he volunteered to serve in Spain.  He boarded the President Roosevelt on March 17, 1937 six days after receiving his passport.  Once in Spain, he was assigned to the XV Brigade, George Washington Battalion. Mazurka likely remained behind when the Washington Battalion moved to the front as he records indicate he was serving with the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion in August.  Records indicate that at some point he served as a section leader in the British Battalion. He was wounded in action during the fall of 1937.  Mazurka was killed in action on February 16, 1938, in the Seguro de los Baños. Julian James Baublis (aka Julie Babbit, “Jay-Jay”) was born on February 7, 1901, in Worchester, Massachusetts. Prior to Spain, he served in the U. S. Army for one year.  He was single, a machine operator and a member of the CP.  He was issued passport # 414 Boston series on March 14, 1937, and sailed for Europe three days later aboard the President Roosevelt.  Baublis likely remained behind when the Washington Battalion moved to the front as he records indicate he was serving with the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion in August.  He was killed in action on October 13, 1937, at Fuentes de Ebro.

[3] Tom Danek, an ethnic Canadian was  born November 12, 1917. He lived in Winnipeg, Windsor and worked as an electrician

[4] Benjamin Goldring (aka Joseph Jackton)  was born on May                13, 1912, in New York, New York.  He attended Seth Low, followed by Columbia and Columbia Law in 1934.  Goldring was politically active and joined the Communist Party in October 1936.  He was an unmarried attorney residing in Brooklyn, New York when he decided to volunteer to serve in Spain.  After obtaining his passport in April 1937, he sailed for Europe in early May aboard the American Importer.  Goldring arrived in Spain in late May and joined the XV Brigade’s George Washington Battalion.  During the Brunete campaign he was wounded twice in action.  After his recovery, he joined the Lincoln-Washington Battalion’s, Co. 3, and fought at Quinto where he was wounded again.  Goldring returned to U. S. aboard the Ausonia on December 20, 1938.  Goldring wrote an article for The Volunteer about Ragner, “Albin C. Ragner: Mostest First-Line Infantryman.” Goldring died on April 17, 2000.

[5]William Chestna (aka Philip B. Chestna) was born August 11, 1906. He was issued passport# 404684 on May 4, 1937, listing a Long Island, NY address.  He sailed May 7, 1937, aboard the American Farmer. Chestna was killed in action at Brunete on July 25, 1937.

[6] I believe Ragner is referring to the Tajuña River a tributary of the Jarama River.

[7] Alfred Leo Kaufman, (aka Al Friedman, Oscar Everett) was 31years-old and living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania when he volunteered to serve in Spain.  A seaman and member of the Communist Party from 1932, he received passport #398407 on April 26, 1937.  On May 29, 1937, Kaufman boarded the Britannic in New York City en route to Europe.  After crossing into Spain, he joined the XV Brigade’s George Washington Battalion.  He was wounded in action during the Brunete campaign.  After his recovery, Kaufman attended officer training school and graduated in January 1938, with the rank of Teniente (Lieutenant).  He rejoined the Brigade as part of the Lincoln-Washington Battalion.  He was killed in action on April 3, 1938, near Gandesa during the Retreats.

[8] Robert Browning is most likely the Canadian Robert Brownlee.  He was born in Smith Falls, Ontario, Canadian, c. 1888.  He resided in Vancouver, British Columbia when he volunteered.  He worked as a surveyor.  He was hospitalized in Spain and later returned to Canada.

[9] Hansford “Hans” Amlie was born on September 5, 1900, in Coopesrtown, North Dakota.  He was a veteran of the First World War.  Amlie left the U. S. Army in 1919, and joined the Marine Corps until 1921.          After completing his military service, Amlie became a mining engineer. He was an active member of the Socialist Party which recruited him to command the Debs column based on his prior his military experience.  He received passport #24457 San Francisco series on February 2, 1937.  He was living in San Francisco, California.  After arriving in Spain he found that the Socialist Party had failed to establish a structure to get the volunteers into Spain.  Amlie elected to continue on to Spain and joined the International Brigades.  He arrived in March 1937, and joined the XV Brigade’s George Washington Battalion.  Amlie was selected to Command Company 1.  During the Brunete Campaign he was promoted to Battalion Adjutant after Captain Trail, an English volunteer who was mortally wounded.  After recovering from his wounds and attending Officer Training School, Amlie took command of the Lincoln-Washington Battalion. He commanded the battalion during the battles of Quinto and Belchite.  He was wounded a second time during Belchite and was repatriated.  While in Spain, he married journalist Millie Bennett.  He arrived in the U. S. aboard the President Harding on January 1, 1938.  After the war he found employment running a farm in Arizona.  He was killed in a farming accident in December 1949.

[10] Marineros were armed sailors.

[11] Meredith Sydnor “Syd” Graham was a 25-year old Communist Party member and budding artist when he volunteered to serve in Spain.  On March 2, 1937, he received passport# 370943 which listed his address as 32 Cornelia Street, New York, New York.  He sailed for Europe on March 10, 1937, aboard the Washington. In Spain, he served with the XV Brigade Estado Mayor. He was killed in action on July 18, 1937.  Three of Graham’s sketch books from Spain are included in the ALBA collection.

[12]Edgar Roy McQuarrie was born June 2, 1915, in Detroit, Michigan.  In 1937, McQuarrie was a Wayne State University student, active in the American Student Union, and a member of the Communist Party. On January 5, 1937, he boarded the Berengaria en route to Europe.  When he arrived in Spain on February 17, 1937, McQuarrie was sent to officer training school.  After completing the course he was assigned to the XV Brigade. He was an officer in the Lincoln-Washington Battalion’s Machine gun Company when he was killed on July 18, 1937.

[13] Arnold Staub was a Canadian veteran of Swiss heritage born c. 1907.  He was living in Estevan, Saskatchewan when he volunteered for Spain.  As Ragner noted, Staub was a jockey by profession.  He was wounded in action in Spain.

[14] Daniel Hutner was a 29-year old, New York University graduate and CP member who fought and died in Spain.  He received passport# 387751 on April 9, 1937, and sailed for Europe aboard the Queen Mary on April 21, 1937.  In Spain, Hutner served with the XV Brigade’s George Washington Battalion. He was wounded in action during the Brunete campaign.  After his recovery, he joined Lincoln-Washington Battalion and served in the Aragon Campaign.  He was killed while leading a reconnaissance patrol in Belchite on September 6, 1937.

[15] Ragner’s dates on this action are off.  The XV BDE’s attack at Fuentes de Ebro took place on October 13, 1937.

[16] Enrique Líster Forján was a prominent general in the Republican Popular Army during the Spanish Civil War.  Lister was born April 21, 1907, in Galicia  and spent part of his adolescence in Cuba.  During the late 1920s, he was imprisoned for union activities. He was imprisoned when the Second Republic came to power.  He joined the Communist Party in 1930 and was sent to the Soviet Union to study from 1932-35.  Lister returned to Spain in 1935.  When the civil war broke out, he was instrumental in raising the Quinto (Fifth) Regimento.  Lister rapidly rose in rank and prestige rapidly moving from Militia commander to Brigade Commander and later to Division command.  During the Ebro Offensive he commanded the Fifth Army Corps.  After the war he travelled to the Soviet Union where he attended the Frunze Military Academy and became a member of the Spanish Community Party’s Central Committee.  He broke from the party and was expelled in 1959.   He returned to Spain after Franco’s death.  Lister died on December 8, 1994.

[17] Charles Lisberg, an African American, was born February 10, 1911 in Abita Springs, Louisiana.  He later moved to Los Angeles, California.  In 1931, he joined both the Young Communist League and the Communist Party. Lisberg was single and working as a carpenter and laborer when he volunteered to serve in Spain.  He received passport# 28772 on May 28, 1937. He travelled to New York where he boarded the Georgic on June 12, 1937.  After crossing into Spain, Lisberg joined the XV Brigade’s newly formed Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion and began training in Tarazona.  Lisberg was sent from the training base to the Lincoln-Washington Battalion where he served as a replacement with Company 1.  He was killed in action at Teruel on January 25, 1938.                                                                                                                                           

[18] Philip Lucas Detro was born in Conroe, Texas. He volunteered for service in Spain in early 1937.  Detro travelled to Europe aboard the Ile de France on March 12, 1937.  In Spain, he joined the XV Brigade’s George Washington Battalion as the adjutant to the commander of Company 1.  During the Brunete campaign he took command of the company after the commander was wounded. Detro was subsequently wounded.  After recovering he returned to the Brigade serving as a staff officer.  Detro took command of the Lincoln-Washington Battalion during the battle for Belchite after Amlie was wounded. He led the battalion through Fuentes de Ebro and Teruel.  He was wounded by a sniper at Teruel and died in Hospital. During his service in Spain, Detro was regarded as a maverick.

[19] Robert Hale Merriman was born November 25, 1908, in Santa Cruz, California. He graduated from the University of Nevada in 1932 and continued graduate studies at the University of California.  While attending the University of Nevada, he was enrolled in the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC).  He was studying in the Soviet Union when the Spanish Civil War broke out.  He arrived in Spain on January 18, 1937.  Merriman was appointed Adjutant commander of the Lincoln Battalion and took command of the battalion shortly after it arrived at the front.  Merriman was wounded in action during the disastrous assault against Pingaron Hill on February 27, 1937.  His wife Marion joined him in the hospital.  After his recovery he attended officer training school and later commanded the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion while it was undergoing initial training at Tarazona.  He rejoined the Brigade as the Chief of Staff shortly before the Aragon Campaign.  He was promoted from Captain to Major and served through Belchite, Fuentes de Ebro, Teruel and the first stage of the Retreats. Merriman disappeared during the second stage of the Retreats, near Gandesa in April 1938.  Various accounts of his disappearance have been published.  The most popular is that Merriman followed Brigade intelligence officer John Gerlach into an Italian encampment.  Gerlach was leading the remnants of the Lincoln-Washington Battalion in a night march as they attempted to break through Nationalist forces to regain Republican lines.  Merriman is believed to have been captured in the camp and subsequently executed.  Ragner’s account differs significantly and is closer to that of Fausto Villar Esteban, a Spanish officer serving with the XV Brigade who wrote a memoir of his experience with the brigade. (cited in Cecil Eby’s Comrades and Commissars, pp.331-33)

[20] Joe Sych – I have been unable to confirm Ragner’s assertion that he was a Ukrainian Canadian in the Lincoln-Washington BN.

[21] Henry Mack (aka Henry Maki, Oni August Arvitt) was born in Finland on November 22, 1909.  He was a 28-year -old auto worker living in Bessemer, Pennsylvania or Ohio when he volunteered to serve in Spain. On March 10, 1937, Mack boarded the Washington en route to Spain via France.  In Spain, he initially served as a Section Leader in the Machine gun Company of the Edgar André battalion of the XIth International Brigade.  He fought at Guadalajara and Brujela where he was wounded in action.  After recovery, Mack attended officer training school.  He remained at the school for three additional months after graduating as a machinegun instructor. During the Retreats, he transferred to the XV Brigade’s Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion.  Mack was assigned as a company commander and briefly commanded the battalion.  During the reorganization of the battalion, he took command of Company 2.  He was wounded in action during the Ebro Offensive on September 21, 1938.  Mack returned to the U. S. aboard the Washington on August 8, 1938.  He died on February 26, 1976.

[22] Whitey Wahl – I have been unable to confirm this volunteer’s name.

[23] Ivor “Tiny” Anderson was a Canadian of Danish descent.  When he volunteered, he was living in Vancouver and working as miner.  He was one of the volunteers who survived the sinking of the City of Barcelona in May 1937.  Anderson served in the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion and was killed in action in the Sierra de Pándols in August 1938.

[24] Patrick O’Hara –I have been unable to confirm this volunteer’s name.

[25] I believe that Ragner may be referring to Santa Coloma de Farners which is actually in Catalonia.

[26] Mirko Markovics (aka Jose Porra Spolea, Markovicz) was born in 1907 in Stijene, Podgorica, Montenegro.  He was member of the Yugoslavian Communist Party and a graduate of a Soviet Russian military academy where he graduated with a Doctorate in Economics and received a commission in the Red Army.  Markovics was sent to the U.S. to organize among Yugoslavian immigrants. He went to Spain from the U. S.   He commanded the George Washington Battalion and briefly commanded the merged Lincoln-Washington Battalion during the Brunete campaign.  Markovics returned to the U. S. after Spain, but was later deported to Yugoslavia.  He died there in 1988.

Marcus Billings. Photo courtesy Marcus Billings.

Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of biographies of Lincoln Brigaders by Chris Brooks. 

Marcus Judson Billings was born on June 10, 1914 in Redlands, California to O. S. Billings, a printer and the former Francis Devore, a housewife.  He grew up in Redlands and graduated from Redlands High School.

After high school Billings enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley campus where he studied philosophy. He was a member of the Young Communist League.(1)

In early 1937, Billings volunteered for Spain and applied for a passport.  He received his passport on February 19, 1937 and travelled across country to New York where he boarded the Washington sailing March 10, 1937 for France.  Billings travelled from Le Havre, to Paris and then into Southern France.  He made a night time crossing into Spain over the Pyrenees and enrolled in the International Brigades. (2)

Billings was assigned as a truck driver to the Intendencia in Albacete.(3) He was wounded on May 31, 1937 in the town of Almeria when German warships bombarded the town.(4) Billings’ unit was in the town delivering trucks.  Three fellow drivers were killed in the shelling. 5)  Billings suffered a leg wound and spent the remainder of his time in Spain in hospitals.  He was treated in Almeria, Fortuna, Murcia and finally in a convalescent center near Valencia.(6)  In early 1938 he was repatriated and returned to the US on February 23, 1938 aboard the Champlain.(7)

After returning Billings resumed his studies at UC Berkeley and graduated in 1938.  After graduation he took a job as a social worker. He was active in the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.  Due to his war wound he was unable to serve in WWII.(8)

In 1945 he married Margaret Cushwa.  Together they raised three children Paul, born in 1950, Susan, born in 1954 and Alan born in 1957.  Billings returned to UC Berkeley and earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering, graduating in 1948. (9) During the McCarthy era he was harassed by the FBI and dodged numerous subpoenas by the House Committee on Un-American Activities.(10)

Billings became a tool and die maker and was an active member of his trade union.  In the 1970’s he purchased a small business producing handbags and managed it until he retired in the 1990s.  Billings turned his business over to his son Alan. Billings died on November 5, 2009 in El Cerrito, California.(11)

Editor’s Note: This article is primarily constructed around a summary of three interviews that Sandor Voros conducted with Mirko Markovics in July 1937.  An additional interview was planned that would have extended into the Brunete offensive but was never conducted as Markovics was called away and the interview never resumed.

Colonel Stephen Fuqua, David Doran and Captain Hans Amlie at Fuentes de Ebro, Nov. 1937 (Tamiment Library, NYU, 15th IB Photo Collection, Photo # 11-1350)

On April 24, 1937 Captain Mirko Markovics traveled to Madrigueras, site of one of the training bases of the International Brigades, to initiate the formation of a second American Battalion. (1) In Madrigueras Markovics found approximately 100 American volunteers. On first impression Markovics was an odd choice to take the command.

Born in 1907 in Montenegro, Markovics was an active member of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. He had been selected to attend school in the Soviet Union where he received a doctorate in Economics from the Communist University for National Minorities of the West (KUNMZ). He was commissioned into the Red Army as a Commissar with the rank of Lieutenant. In 1936, he was sent to the United States where he headed the CPUSA’s Serbian Section and the Yugoslav Coordinating Bureau.  Early in 1937, he volunteered for service in Spain and arrived there on April 20.

He found discipline among the volunteers lax. The prevailing attitude, he stated,  was “We’re volunteers. If we want to accept orders and discipline, it’s ok. But if we do not like an order, we don’t have to carry it out.  We have the right to decide what to obey and what to reject.” Markovics worked to instill greater discipline, advising the soldiers that they “must set an example and establish even better discipline than that of the loyalist army.” New volunteers, many of whom were Americans, arrived in Madrigueras from Albacete in batches of 25 to 30 a day.  The newcomers accepted rules and regulations without question.

On April 30, Markovics received the official order to form a second American battalion. The following day, the men were organized into companies. Two days later, the International Brigade Headquarters formally appointed Captain Markovics as battalion Commander. Dave Mates, an American volunteer, was appointed Political Commissar. Markovics was not impressed by Mates who was a political appointee without military experience. He thought that Mates “did not mix well with the men,” noting he often failed to “show up” for the morning formation, and when he did, Mates was often “late and half dressed.”

Hans Amlie commanded the first company; Bill Halliwell, a Canadian emigrant from Britain commanded the second, and Alec Miller (also Canadian) the third  (2).  Due to prior military service in the United States—five years in the Army, two in the Marines–Amlie had originally been recruited by the American Socialist Party to lead the Debs Column.

Training began in earnest around May 10, 1937.  Instructors and battalion officers conducted lectures and led practical exercises on topics such as scouting and marching.  A foreign volunteer, identified as Rabele, provided much of the instruction. Markovics noted that the “best elements” were selected for the newly formed machine-gun company. Walter Garland, an African American veteran of Jarama, was made the company commander, supported by Milo Damjanovich, a Yugoslavian volunteer, as the Commissar.

On May 17, the Americans moved to the nearby town of Tarazona in order to enhance discipline.  Markovics noted that in Madrigueras “drunkenness” was rife “especially among the French.”  Initially, the citizens of Tarazona were not pleased to have the Americans because Franco-Belgian troops, who had been quartered in the town during the previous two months, had given the citizens a poor impression of internationals due to heavy drinking. The Americans eventually won over the townspeople.

Eight days after arriving, the battalion conducted its first field maneuvers.  Despite some of the scouts becoming lost, the exercise was considered a success. General training continued with an emphasis on small arms, grenades, and machine-guns. The battalion also initiated some specialized training, including signals. At that point the battalion had approximately 400 men in training.

On June 4, International Brigade Headquarters designated the unit as the 19th Battalion of the XV International Brigade. The order specified a strength of 250 men.  The next day, the battalion met in the town’s square and adopted George Washington as its name. The men initially wanted to name the battalion after Tom Mooney, a labor organizer imprisoned in California. They accepted the CP’s guidance delivered by telegram from the U.S. Communist Party in New York advising that naming the unit after Mooney “was not politically expedient at that time.” During the meeting a rumor circulated that the battalion would be going to the front and the men were “very happy.”  Many considered themselves ready for action.

After two days without receiving an order to move, the men, though “very disappointed,” applied their attention to training.  The biggest drawback to training was a lack of weapons. The battalion possessed only a Maxim machine gun, nicknamed “Mother Bloor,” and two light machine guns “stolen” for training purposes.

A watershed moment occurred during the parade formation on the morning of June 9.  Captain Markovics addressed the men, saluted them and said “Salud Comrades!’”  He was pleasantly surprised to see the men return his salute and hear their deafening response of “Salud!”  Markowitz sensed that at that moment the men became “a regular army.”

The battalion’s leadership was solidified at this time and consisted of the following: Mirko Markovics Battalion Commander; Dave Mates Battalion Commissar; Hans Amlie Co. 1 Commander with Bernard Ames Co. Commissar; Edward Cecil-Smith Co. 2 Commander with Morris Wickman as Commissar; Hussera (Yardas) Co. 3 Commander with Harry Hynes as Commissar; Walter Garland MG Commander with Carl Geiser as Commissar. Kaye was listed as Intendant.

Battalion leaders planned a night maneuver on June 11 but plans were changed when the battalion received orders to move to the Jarama front.  The men were eager to move.  When the trucks arrived to move them to the front the men rapidly boarded along with their gear.  Because fewer trucks arrived than anticipated the soldiers crowded 30 men to a truck.

After a painful overnight journey, the George Washington Battalion arrived “tired and hungry” in the town of Taracon around 11am on June 12. The movement order called for a brief stop to feed the troops and refuel the trucks.  But the field kitchen truck broke down along the route and there was no back-up plan to feed the men.  It became clear that insufficient preparations had been made. The unit was compelled to coerce “at the point of a gun” the local officials into providing gasoline for the trucks to complete their trip. They finally arrived at their destination, the town of Tailmer near Perales, about 2pm.

Insufficient preparations for the battalion’s arrival were further evident in Tailmer.   The men found the town “overcrowded” with “empty stores” and no designated billets.  The battalion staff obtained a stable for headquarters, while the men camped in the surrounding field.  Markovics called up the division staff and “raised hell” for the poor work involved in the move. Division promised to send a kitchen. The truck arrived late that evening and the men were finally fed.

On June 16, the Washingtons were ordered to move into a second line position to replace the Dimitrov Battalion. The unit received arms from other battalions: “250 rifles, six heavy machine guns and two light machine guns.”  The Washingtons were transported to Morata. Morale was “high” and the 280-man unit spent that night and the following day cleaning their weapons.

During the next 13 days the unit spent time in the second line organizing and training.  Soldiers selected to be stretcher bearers, ammunition and food carriers, and cooks received specialized training. In the case of the cooks “three good men were selected from each company.” Many of these men balked at being selected. They stated that they considered the work “as some sort of punishment.”  Markovics reflected that after the unit went into battle there was no shortage of men requesting to transfer to the kitchen.

On the night of June 22, a major storm inundated the battalion’s bivouac. High winds blew down many tents. Tents that had been erected in gullies were washed away in the deluge. The following night, the Washington battalion was ordered to stand by to respond to a threatened Nationalist attack along the Jarama. The battalion spent two wet miserable nights before the weather improved allowing gear to dry and the camp to be re-established. Markovics noted that despite these setbacks the men’s spirits remained high.

The last additions to the battalion leadership arrived on June 29.  Captain Robert Trail, an English volunteer who had recently commanded the Anglo-American Company of the 20th International Battalion of the 86th Mixed Brigade on the Cordoba Front, was appointed battalion Adjutant.  Dr. Mark Strauss joined as the Battalion Surgeon.

On June 30, the unit was alerted for movement to the front and at midnight boarded trucks. They traveled 150 km (93 miles) through the night before arriving in the town of Torreldones.  From Torreldones the battalion was ordered to conduct a road marched to their assembly area near kilometer stone Number 5.

The men were told that they were to conduct a five-mile road march.  Each man carried full marching equipment consisting of: Rifle, 200 rounds of ammunition, canteen, blanket, one or two hand grenades, gasmask, musette, knapsack, mess kit, steel helmet, pick and shovel. The weight of the equipment was approximately 20-25 kilograms (44-55 pounds). The march distance turned out to be closer to 14 miles along roads jammed with men and transport moving to the front.  Despite resting 10 minutes each hour, the men arrived at their final destination completely “exhausted.”  Arriving at the 5 kilometer stone around 4am, the men “flopped down and went to sleep.”

The battalion spent the next two days, July 3 and 4 awaiting further orders.  While they rested, the remainder of the XV Brigade moved to the front. The Washington Battalion was incorporated into the Brigade’s 1st Regiment. At 9pm on July 4 the battalion moved to the river Aulencia between Valdemarillo and Escoliar.  They reached the river at two in the morning of July 5. This was the battalion’s final jumping-off position. Later in the day the initial orders for the Brunete offensive were received.  Zero hour was midnight.

NOTES

(1) Adelphi’s Archive, Sandor Voros Collection.

(2) For more information on the Canadian volunteers, see Michael Petrou, Renegades: Canadians in the Spanish Civil War (UBC Press, 2008).

John Kedzie Jacobs, The Stranger in the Attic: Finding a Lost Brother in His Letters Home (Lexington, KY: Jacobs, 2013).

At the end of his physical strength, the Lincoln volunteer Edward Deyo Jacobs was too exhausted to continue running away from the encircling enemy armies during the Retreats of March 1938.  His close friend and fellow artist Doug Taylor elected to stay with him.  They were both swept up by the advancing Nationalists and neither was ever heard from again.

Veteran Arthur Landis authored an article on Jacobs that was published in The Volunteer and is reproduced in this new book.  He concluded the article by noting, “These few paragraphs, plus the accompanying artwork falls far short of being the story of Deyo Jacobs. His background data, the milieu from which he came is missing.”

Now, in The Stranger in the Attic, John Kedzie Jacobs, Edward’s older brother, provides the previously missing story behind the story, using a framework based on letters John Jacobs found in the attic of his family home. These letters written by and to Edward, include those from his friends and family beginning during his childhood in upstate New York and continuing until shortly before his death. John Jacobs does an exceptional job interweaving family history and the letters.

After graduating from high school, Edward enrolled in the Art Students League in Manhattan.  He grew into a talented artist who signed his work Deyo. Jacobs’s letters from New York deal with diverse subjects, including learning about art, life, and making a living during the Great Depression. In 1935, he and Doug Taylor rode the rails to Salt Lake City. The same year he joined the Communist Party.

Edward Jacobs volunteered when the Spanish Civil War broke out and the Communist Party began to recruit volunteers for the International Brigades. He arrived in Spain in early March 1937. Jacobs served on the Jarama Front, at Fuentes de Ebro, Teruel, and the Retreats. His roles were varied and included those of rifleman, staff artist, and topographer. While Jacobs’s letters from Spain make up only a small portion of The Stranger in the Attic, they provide greater insight into his service in Spain.  When family and friends ceased to receive letters, their hope gradually turned to grief. 

The Stranger in the Attic is a powerful addition to the growing library on Spanish Civil War volunteers.  It is both a celebration of life and a poignant reflection of an older brother lost in a foreign war and the subsequent impact on his family.

Chris Brooks, a longtime Board member, directs ALBA’s biographical dictionary project.

Barry McLoughlin, Fighting for Republican Spain, 1936-38, Frank Ryan and the Volunteers from Limerick in the International Brigade, Ireland:  Barry McLoughlin, 2014.  ISBN 978-1-291-96839-2

Fighting for Republican Spain, 1936-38, is a worthy book that adds significantly to the historiography of the International Brigades.  McLoughlin’s self-published Fighting for Republican Spain to coincide with a celebration of Limerick volunteers organized by the Limerick International Brigade Memorial Trust [1].  The core of this well-researched work is a regional study of six Limerick volunteers:  Frank Ryan, Maurice Emmett Ryan, Jim Woulf, Gerrard Doyle, Patrick Brady, and Joseph Ryan.  Of the six: two died in Spain, two were captured by the Nationalists, one was sent home categorized as “useless,” and one was repatriated due to wounds.   All six were born in Limerick, but were living in other cities or outside of Ireland when they left for Spain.  The book makes extensive use of local source material as well as the International Brigade records from the Moscow Archives. These resources inform both his discussions of the Irish political landscape and the biographical sketches he incorporated for 230 Irish volunteers.

Frank Ryan and John Robinson, Oct. 1937. ALBA Photo 011,11_0759, Tamiment Library.

Frank Ryan is the central figure in Fighting for Republican Spain. The first chapters of the book interweave Frank Ryan’s background with an overview of Irish politics in the 1930s.  This sets the stage for discussion of the Spanish Civil War including Ryan’s capture during The Retreats. This portion of the book primarily focuses on Ryan within the context of the British Battalion’s service. McLoughlin discusses Ryan’s time as a POW, his post-war transfer from Spanish prison to Germany, and subsequent, sometimes controversial without passing judgment. His approach allows readers to draw their own conclusions.

Two other Limerick volunteers receive multi-page coverage.  Jim Woulf, who went to Spain from Canada, was severely wounded by a grenade that ripped off most of his jaw during the vicious house-to-house struggle for Belchite.  The coverage of Woulf notes his background, the fatal wound he suffered at Belchite, and the impact his death had on his family in Ireland.    Maurice Emmett Ryan also died in Spain.  His death was controversial because he was executed by Republican forces, a fact that received little press at the time.  McLoughlin devotes an entire chapter to discuss the timeline and events surrounding Ryan’s execution.  In the discussion he implies that Ryan’s execution may have resulted more from suspicions aroused by his socioeconomic background than from the reputed charge of firing on his own men while intoxicated. McLoughlin notes that primary and secondary sources on the three remaining Limerick volunteers provide little information.  Consequently, the text mentions them only in passing.

American readers will find McLoughlin’s coverage of the voluntary transfer of Irish volunteers from the British Battalion to the American Lincoln Battalion of interest.    Twenty-one Irish volunteers voted to transfer after a rancorous meeting with the British Battalion leadership.   This controversial exodus took place while Ryan was away from the Battalion. The Irish volunteers formed a section with the addition of Americans of Irish descent and a few of dubious lineage like Milty O’Goldstein. Several of the Irish who transferred advanced to important leadership positions within the Lincoln Battalion.  The section ceased to exist after the Brunete campaign due to the high rate of casualties.

McLoughlin’s inclusion of biographical sketches of 230 Irish volunteers in the last two chapters elevates this work’s importance. He analyzes data on Irish volunteers identifying this population as those who were either born or lived for a period in Ireland. Most Irish volunteers went to Spain from other nations: 123 from Britain; 30 from Canada; 12 from USA; and 6 from other countries.  Sixty-nine Irish volunteers died in Spain.

[1] During the L-IMBT event, From the Shannon to the Ebro, held in September 2014 a sandstone sculpted memorial to the six volunteers was unveiled at the Limerick City Hall.

José Alejandro Ortiz Carrión with Teresita Torres Rivera, Voluntarios de da Libertad. Puertorriqueños en defensa de la República Española 1936-1939 [Freedom Volunteers: Puerto Ricans in defense of the Spanish Republic 1936-1939] (San Juan: Ediciones Callejón, 2015).

In 1999, José Alejandro Ortiz Carrión contacted ALBA requesting information on Puerto Rican volunteers in the Spanish Civil War. His letter and the response, which included a list of the known Puerto Rican volunteers from the ALBA database, were published in the Spring 2000 edition of The Volunteer. In the ensuing years, Ortiz Carrión continued his research, broadening his definition of volunteer which resulted in the identification of numerous additional Puerto Ricans involved in the Spanish Civil War. In his most recent work Voluntarios de la Libertad, Puertorriqueños en defense de la República Española 1936-1939 Ortiz Carrión identifies 73 Puerto Ricans participants in the Spanish Civil War.

Ortiz Carrión defines Puerto Rican participants primarily as individuals who were born in Puerto Rico; born in New York of Puerto Rican descent; and select individuals who had lived in Puerto Rico at some point prior to going to Spain. Most participants served in a military capacity in the militia, the Republican Army, the International Brigades or medical services. Others served as civilian volunteers, government employees or civilian exiles.

Most of the 73 Puerto Ricans served in the militia, the Republican Army, the International Brigades, or the medical services.

Voluntarios de la Libertad is divided into five parts, or themes, including the reaction to the war in Puerto Rico and New York; early volunteers on the Madrid Front; Puerto Rican volunteers from New York in the International Brigades; POWs and other prisoners; and Puerto Rican participants in postwar concentration camps and exiles. Within these subgroups each participant’s biographical information is presented along with supporting documentation. Numerous photographs of volunteers and primary source documents reproduced within the text. An extensive notes section ends each part, providing additional supporting information.

Back matter includes a chronological table comparing events within the Second Spanish Republic with parallel events worldwide. An appendix lists the 73 Puerto Rican volunteers and presents key information including date and place of birth, education, battalion, repatriation and times and places of death, and a comments field.

Although Voluntarios de la Libertad is written in Spanish, much of the primary source material is in English. ALBA will update its biographical database to include additions and corrections presented in the book.

Christopher Brooks is director of ALBA’s biographical research project and database, which can be consulted online at www.alba-valb.org/volunteers.

The Jarama Series: The Volunteer Blog will present a series of articles examining the experiences of volunteers in the Abraham Lincoln Battalion from its formation to the Brunete Offensive in July 1937.  Articles will focus both on the battalion’s formation as well as on the individuals who served. These articles are intended to provide the reader with a better appreciation of the men and women who made up the first American combat formation in Spain. The series is compiled and curated by ALBA Board Member Chris Brooks.

Jarama Valley

There’s a valley in Spain called Jarama,
That’s a place that we all know so well,
for it is there that we wasted our manhood,
And most of our old age as well.

From this valley they tell us we’re leaving
But don’t hasten to bid us adieu
For even though we make our departure
We’ll be back in an hour or two

Oh, we’re proud of our Lincoln Battalion
And the marathon record it’s made,
Please do us this one little favor
And take this last word to Brigade:

You will never be happy with strangers,
They would not understand you as we,
So remember the Jarama Valley
And the old men who wait patiently.

Members of the Lincoln Battalion Machine Gun Company on the Jarama Front, Spring 1937. Courtesy of Dave Smith who is holding the staff of the flag.

The haunting verses of the song Jarama Valley composed by Scottish volunteer Alex McDade and set to the tune of The Red River Valley capture the essence of the Lincoln Battalion’s experience at Jarama. The lyrics capture the disastrous assault on the heights of Pingarrón on the 27^th of February and the danger and tedium of their “marathon” occupation of front line positions that continued through the winter, spring and early summer. The lyrics demonstrate the volunteers’ annoyance of having a long expected leave in Alcalá de Henares cancelled after only twenty-four hours.  These events and more will be highlighted on the blog.

Introduction

The Comintern initiated recruitment in the United States shortly after the International Brigades went into combat during the defense of Madrid. The United States Communist Party (CPUSA) utilized a variety of front organizations, including the North American Committee to Aid Spanish Democracy, to recruit American volunteers.

New York City was the hub of the recruiting effort. The Communist Party’s recruiting drive reached across the country. Recruiting was generally conducted in a discreet manner from a pool of current communists and members of militant trade unions. Volunteers from outside the metro area were given put up in the Sloane YMCA or similar lodgings (Tisa, 15). Each volunteer was given $10 and instructed to apply for a passport.  While they waited for their travel documents, the volunteers received limited training, primarily in close order drill, at the Ukrainian Hall on East Third Street (Eby, 9-10).

The Party also provided each of the early volunteers with uniforms purchased at an Army Navy Store near 14^th Street. Each man received approximately $50 worth of gear from an established line of credit. The volunteers were issued WWI-style military surplus: “khaki-twill shirts, overseas caps, pants with roll-up puttees, woolen mittens, [and] fleece lined jackets” (Eby, 12). Some volunteers also purchased hatchets and knives (Herrick, 128). To transport his kit, each man received an identical black suitcase with yellow straps.

Shortly before sailing the first volunteers received a Bon Voyage party at the Second Avenue Yiddish Theater. Each volunteer was informed of the time and date of departure and provided with a gift bag consisting of “a carton of Lucky Strikes, … a Gillette Razor, two cakes of Palmolive soap and a tin of G. Washington Coffee…” (Eby, 12).

The Normandie sailed on December 26^th. There are differing accounts about how the volunteers spent their time aboard the vessel. Edwin Rolfe in The Lincoln Battalion portrayed the group as sober and introspective. William Herrick, one of the volunteers aboard the vessel, provided a different account. Herrick noted that the volunteers initially tried to remain unobtrusive but they quickly realized that their fellow passengers were aware that they were not the typical tourist. Herrick stated that the volunteers found the perfect cure to shipboard boredom when they discovered that a group of performers from the Folies Bergère was also aboard (Eby, 15).

On the third day at sea the ship’s newspaper printed a bulletin for the benefit of the volunteers. Chairman Reynolds of the House Foreign Affairs Committee declared he would urge the Department of Justice to apply the section of the Criminal Code providing $3,000 fine or a year in prison for enlistment of Americans in a foreign war (Landis, 19). Most volunteers announced that they would worry about the bulletin when they returned to the US.

The Normandie docked in Le Havre on New Year’s Eve. The men disembarked and reported to the customs shed each with his identical suitcase containing his uniform and assorted military gear. The French customs inspectors passed them through with a subdued cheer of Vive l’Espagna! (Landis, 20).

The trip through France took only a total of thirty-six hours. After a night in Le Havre the volunteers boarded the boat train to Paris at 5pm. In Paris the men stayed close to the station and departed a few hours later on a train bound for Perpignan. After arriving in Perpignan the volunteers boarded buses along with other international volunteers and crossed the border into Spain.

The volunteers were routed to the international reception station, the Fortress of Figueras. They stayed there two days, breaking up the boredom with a brief parade in uniform through the adjacent town. The men then boarded trains for the long slow trip to Albacete, the International Brigades Headquarters (Landis, 21).

The men performed brief parades in Barcelona and Valencia as well. The volunteers arrived in Albacete at 10am on January 6, 1937. The men were enrolled in the International Brigades the following day and then trucked thirty-five miles out to Villa Nueva de la Jara. Villa Nueva de la Jara would serve as their training base until they departed for the front. In the small village the men were housed in a Monastery. Tisa diplomatically noted that they had to “clean up after the previous occupants” (25).  French volunteers who had preceded the North Americans left excrement throughout the building.

The Battalion began its formal military training under the command of James Harris with Sam Stember as the unit’s Commissar. Formally known as the 17^th International Column the men quickly adopted their predetermined title of the Abraham Lincoln Battalion.

The First Volunteers

Data is available for approximately 76 of the 80 confirmed volunteers who sailed aboard the Normandie (See Figure 1). Despite the loss of many of the early battalion records, sufficient source material remains to build a picture of the early volunteers.  First, the group’s third-class tickets were booked and purchased thorough World Tourist, Incorporated (Eby, 12). It is likely that State Department agents used the names on the block of tickets to identify the volunteers travelling to Spain. These lists were compiled for each ship leaving the US until early in 1938 and are known collectively as the Sail List. World Tourist likely added other non-volunteer travelers to the block purchase which likely account for some of the names that remain unconfirmed on the Sail List.

Figure 1. List of North American Volunteers sailing aboard the Normandie on December 26, 1936

A small number of first-hand accounts by early volunteers are also available.  William Herrick’s Jumping the Line and John Tisa’s Recalling the Good Fight are both excellent sources. Tisa’s work should be read in conjunction with the wartime pamphlet he wrote The Story of the Abraham Lincoln Battalion, Written in the Trenches of Spain.

Documents from the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI) shed additional light on the volunteers. Several brief lists are preserved providing in some cases date of arrival, age, vocation, military experience and political affiliation.

An undated document titled “Roster of the Lincoln Brigade” from (RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 47 ll. 3 and 4 provides excellent information related to the first group of volunteers.

Age

The average age of the first group of volunteers was 31. The youngest was Richard Kenney at 18. The oldest was the Finnish American Anton Ulvi at 50. The Majority of volunteers were between the ages of 18 and 30.

Figure 2. Ages

Military Service

Almost every volunteer in the first group self-reported some form of military service. Only nine stated that they had no military experience whatsoever. The largest group had served in some capacity in the army. Note that this data is somewhat imprecise. It is not clear whether a volunteer who is listed as “Infantry” served in an active duty, Reserve or National Guard capacity or if they were in the US Army or Marines or in a foreign nation’s force (See Figures 3 and 4).

Three of the military leaders in the battalion are of special interest. James Harris who served as the commander of the Lincoln Battalion is noted as having “Infantry MG” for his military experience. John Scott, an English volunteer who was living in the US and commanded the first infantry company in the Lincolns is noted as “English ROTC.”  Douglas Seacord who commanded the Lincoln Machine Gun Company and was later promoted to Battalion Adjutant is listed as “Artillery.”

* John Scott completed officer training school in England.
Figure 3. Military Service

Figure 4. Military Service, Army additional detail

Vocation

The first group of volunteers possessed a wide range of skills. Most were skilled tradesmen or workers from diverse professions. Seamen and food service workers made up the largest groups. The number of maritime worker would grow as more volunteers arrived and many found their way into the Machine Gun Company (See Figure 5).

Figure 5. Vocation

Political

The vast majority of the initial volunteers were Communists. As noted previously, the initial recruiting of volunteers was heavily focused on current party members. Only a handful of volunteers were not Communist or Young Communist League members.  Three of the five who did not list their affiliation as Communist were Members of the International Seaman’s Union which dissolved into the National Maritime Union in 1937.  The other two noted membership in the Teamsters and Ship Builders unions. Later groups of volunteers would contain larger groups on non-communist volunteers but the majority of volunteers throughout the war were party members (See Figure 6).

*Robert Pick a CP member also listed the ISU; Gordon Whitney an ISU member also noted affiliation to the Masters, Mates & Pilots section
Figure 6. Political Affiliation

It should never be forgotten the men who went to Spain went as soldiers. For many of the initial volunteers, Spain would prove to be their final resting place. By the end of February, 12 of the volunteers who sailed aboard the Normandie were dead. An additional 26 would die during the course of the war.

Lincoln Battalion, Maritime Workers, Spring 1937, ALBA/VALB.

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In the Jarama Series, The Volunteer Blog will present a series of articles examining the experiences of volunteers in the Abraham Lincoln Battalion from its formation to the Brunete Offensive in July 1937.  Articles will focus both on the battalion’s formation as well as on the individuals who served. These articles are intended to provide the reader with a better appreciation of the men and women who made up the first American combat formation in Spain. The series is compiled and curated by ALBA Board Member Chris Brooks.

Members of the Lincoln Battalion Machine Gun Company on the Jarama Front, Spring 1937. Courtesy of Dave Smith who is holding the staff of the flag.

Parades in Barcelona

The first groups of American volunteers stopped in Barcelona and marched through the streets before moving on to Albacete.  Mahlon F. Perkins, the consul general, reported back to the State Department that a group of about sixty volunteers marching under the American flag stopped under his window and sang “The Star Spangled Banner.” A consular official sent down to talk to the group reported that “they had come to fight for their principles.”[1] This first parade took place on January 6, 1937 and was made up of a contingent of volunteers who had sailed aboard the Normandie.  Smaller groups of American volunteers continued to parade in Barcelona over the next few weeks.[2]

The Catalan photographer Agusti Centelles I Ossó was present and documented the parade by American volunteers most of whom left New York aboard the Champlain on January 5, 1937.[3]  The column included members of the Cuban Centuria Antonio Guiteras who marched as part of the American group under their own banner. The Centuria Guiteras will feature in a later post.

The names of the volunteers who sailed aboard the Champlain and who likely appear in Centelles’ photographs include:

Americans

Abraham Cohen
William Frait
Walter Benjamin Garland
William Hathaway
George T. Jacob
George Theodore Jacobs
Ernest Carl (Earl) Leppo
Artemo (Jack) Luna
Emilio (Emil) Martinez
John William Parks
Milton Mordecai (Mordecai Gerson) Rappaport
Leopold (Luis) Rivero
Samuel Julian Stember
John Tisa
Julius Toab
LeRoy Walkoff
Harry Wallach
Martin Weiss
Cubans

Norberto Aldama Borges
Alejamdro Anceaume y Ramos
Rodolfo Ricardo Ramón de Armas y Soto
Norberto Borges Aldama
Alber F. (Adalberto) Delgado
Bienvenido Dominguez
Juan Godoy Leal
Ricardo Gómez y Olivia
Armando González Carrea
Juan Antonio Hernandez y Valor
Eladio Paula Bolaños (under Eladio Ruiz)
Daniel Rivas y Betancourt
Lorenzo Rodriguez
Ángel Rufo

Unconfirmed

(These individuals may have been Spanish American or picked up as volunteers in error)

William Lewis Banks (believed to be a duplicate of John Parks above)
Faustino A. G. y Fernandez
Ricardo Ereaua
Fernando Sabas Manuel y Rodriguez
Rolando Rodriguez

Click on the thumbnails for the full size photograph:

[1] Cecil Eby, Between the Bullet and the Lie, pp. 1-2 ; The U.S. Consulate General in Barcelona, located on Paseo de Reina Elisenda de Montcada, was established in 1797.

[2] Eby indicates that smaller groups of Americans paraded: Sixteen on January 7, Forty on January 17, and Eighteen on January 18.

[3] Agusti Centelles I Ossó (1909-1985) many of his photographs of the American contingent can be found online. The Champlain is listed as sailing on January 5, 1937 though other sources note the departure date as January 3. Centelles’ photographs of the Americans on parade are normally cited as having been taken on January 16, 1937.

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In the Jarama Series, The Volunteer Blog will present a series of articles examining the experiences of volunteers in the Abraham Lincoln Battalion from its formation to the Brunete Offensive in July 1937. Articles will focus both on the battalion’s formation as well as on the individuals who served. These articles are intended to provide the reader with a better appreciation of the men and women who made up the first American combat formation in Spain. The series is compiled and curated by ALBA Board Member Chris Brooks.

Note: Jim Carmody kindly provided updates on the biographical information for the Irish volunteers listed in the article.  The text of the post was updated to reflect his comments on February 12, 2016.

The James Connolly Column

In early January 1936 Irish volunteers in the British battalion of the XVth International Brigade became embroiled in a spiraling dispute with the Battalion leadership. On January 12^th the Irish in the battalion held a meeting and took a vote on requesting transfer to the American Abraham Lincoln Battalion. Of the approximately 35-40 Irish volunteers in the British Battalion a slim majority voted in favor of the transfer.  Peter O’Connor and others who had argued against the transfer followed the majority’s decision.  On January 20^th the first group of men received transfer orders and joined the Lincolns.[i]

These men formed the nucleus of an Irish Section and adopted the name James Connolly Column. The Irish were assigned to Company One, as the Second Section. Additional volunteers of Irish descent from the United States and Canada along with additional Irish who transferred in over the following weeks filled out the ranks of the section.

The Lincoln Battalion had two infantry companies and a Machinegun Company. The First Company was commanded by John Scott and had three sections. The first section was American, the second Irish, and the third Cuban. The Connolly Column had approximately forty-one men assigned before the unit deployed to the Front (See Figure 1. Roster).[ii]  Several volunteers including Mike Kelly, the Section Commander, did not deploy to with the unit.[iii]  As was common throughout the war, men were moved into different positions to fill requirements as they arose. Kelly eventually rejoined the unit at the front.

Figure 1, Roster Co. 1, Section 2, circa February 15, 1937
Sandor Voros Collection, Adelphi University

Kelly, Michael J. Section Leader.
Doyle.  (Possibly Laurence Doyle or John Doyle) Asst. Section Leader.

Group One (11)

Dooley, Hugh.
Haines, Joseph.
Jefford, Jack.
Jones, ___. (Likely Sheldon Starr Jones).
Loughran, J.
O’Brien, Thomas T.  Group Commissar.
O’Brien, Tom.
O’Flaherty, Charles.
O’Flaherty, Francis Patrick.
Waters, Michael.
Wilson, ___.

Group Two (12)

Bonner, Hugh.
Boyle, ___. (Likely Daniel Boyle).
Brennan, John Francis.
Burns, Paul Arthur.
Donovan, Michael.
Hayes, Thomas.
Hedley, Jack.
Henry, William.
Holden, Dennis.
McLarnon, Alan Frederick.
Moran, Maurice. (aka Patrick Morris Moran).
Morrison, William A. Group Commissar.

Group Three (12)

Blake, Patrick Kevin.
Coleman, John Charles.
Donnelly, Charlie. Group Commissar.
Hochberg, Emmanuel.
Hunt, John.
McElroy, Albert E.
Morris, Arthur Walter.
O’Conner, Peter.
Power, John.
Power, Patrick.
Regan, Jim. (aka O’Reagan).
Stanley, Patrick.

Bork, John E. Runner.
O’Flaherty, Edward Coleman. Runner.

Curtin, Edward. Scout.
Walsh, Thomas.  Scout.

During the abortive attacks on February 23rd and 27th, the battalion took heavy casualties. In the Connolly Column eight men are listed as having been killed and an additional twelve wounded. Several additional volunteers left the Section to take leadership positions in other formations within the Battalion.

In early March the Lincoln Battalion reorganized. Survivors from Company 1, Section 3, the Guiteras Centuria, merged with Irish. For a brief time the formation was known as the Connolly-Guiteras Company.[iv] To make up for their losses, the Irish actively sought recruits of Irish heritage. Some of the volunteers they found were of dubious lineage. For example it is questionable if Milty O’Goldstien was a true son of Ireland.

Recruiting was hampered by the policy of assigning new Irish volunteers arriving in Spain to the British Battalion. By the end of June only eleven Irish-born volunteers remained.[v] The Irish Section fought courageously in the Brunete Campaign throughout July 1937. However, at the end of the action there were too few Irish to continue to justify a section and the Connolly Column ceased to exist within the Lincoln Battalion.[vi]

Irish, American and Canadians Identifies as Having Served in the Irish Section

Blake, Patrick Kevin. b. May 5, 1916, North Dublin, Irish; Domicile Dublin; arrived in Spain January 3, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 3; Survived.

Bonner, Hugh. b. October 2, 1907, County Donegal; Irish; Arrived in Spain January 7, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 2; Promoted to group leader he was killed in action on April 5, 1937, Jarama.

Bork, John E. (Bourke); British of Dutch decent; Served with the XV BDE, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Runner; Later stretcher bearer. Photograph 1, Photograph 3, Photograph 4

Boyle. (Likely Daniel Boyle); b. 1906, Belfast; Irish; IRA; Domicile Belfast; Arrived in Spain December 22, 1936; Assigned to the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 2.; Noted as likely having deserted between Villanueva and the Jarama Front; Survived (other sources indicate killed in February 1937).

or

(Possibly Boyle, George); Glasgow, deserted and left Spain on the USN Maine in 1937.

Brennan, John Francis. US, Domicile Long Island, New York; Arrived in Spain on January 5, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company  1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 2; Survived.

Burns, Paul Arthur. b. March 14, 1906, Somerville, Massachusetts; US; Domicile Williamstown, Massachusetts; Arrived in Spain January 14, 1937;  Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, Connolly Column, Group 2; Later Commander of Company 1; and Battalion Adjutant; Wounded in action at Brunete; Survived. Photograph 3

Coleman, John Charles. b. 1906; Irish; IRA; Domicile Cork; Arrived in Spain December 22, 1936; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 3; Survived. Photograph 3, Photograph 5

Cox, Patrick John Colum. (Colum); b. circa 1917, North Dublin; Irish; Arrived in Spain February 17, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion; Irish Section; Wounded in action, Jarama; Survived.

Curtin, Edward. (Dineen); b. April 19, 1909, Tipperary; Irish; Arrived in Spain January 5, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Scout; WIA February 23, 1937; Survived.

Donnelly, Charlie. b. June 10, 1914, County Tyrone; Irish; Arrived in Spain December 25, 1936; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 3, Group Commissar; Took command of the Section after the death of Bill Henry; Killed in action February 27, 1937, Jarama; His body was recovered on March 9, 1937 and he was buried behind the lines.

Donovan, Michael. (O’Donovan); b. 1914, Athole; Irish; Domicile Britain; Arrived in Spain December 22, 1936; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 2; Wounded in action February 19, 1937, Jarama. Fate uncertain.

Dooley, Hugh. b. June 13, 1910, Belfast; Irish; Arrived in Spain on January 1, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 1; Survived.

Doyle. (Possibly John Doyle) (real name Charles Mitchell); Served and deserted from English Army 2 ½ years under Charles Mitchell; Arrived from England Dec, 28, 1936; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Wounded in action February 27, 1937, Jarama; Went to Artillery school on recovery; Later to 35^th DIV Transport; Deserted November 1937 caught in Barcelona. Another document says Wounded in action February 17, 1937.

Duff, Patrick. Dublin, Irish; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion.

Fennelly, William. b. August 12, 1897, County Laois; Irish; IRA; ;  Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion; Wounded in action February 27, 1937, Jarama; Survived.

Fitzgerald, Dan. b. July 12, 1919, Weymouth, Massachusetts; US; Arrived in Spain February 17, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion; To the front as a replacement on February  26, 1937; Survived.  Photograph 1

Goldstein, Milton. (Milty O’Goldstein); b. November 3, 1915; New York City; US; Domicile Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York; Sailed February 6, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion; Irish Section; Survived.

Haines, Joseph F. Irish; Domicile Dublin; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 1; Wounded in action February 23, 1937, in hospital.  Photograph 5

Hayes, Thomas. b. 1893, Dublin; Irish; Arrived in Spain December 19, 1936; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 2; Did not go to the front with the unit was retained at Villanueva as a guard; Later rejoined the unit at the front; Survived.  Photograph 1, Photograph 3

Hedley, Jack. Liverpool Irish; Domicile Liverpool; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 2, Transferred to Battalion Headquarters as the Company’s Political Commissar; Wounded in action at Jarama. Photograph 5

Henry, William. b. 1896; Irish; Domicile Belfast; Arrived in Spain December 17, 1936; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 2; Promoted to command the Irish Section; Killed in Action either February 23 or February 27, 1937, Jarama.

Hochberg, Emmanuel. b. October 7, 1908, New York; US; Domicile Long Island, New York; Arrived in Spain on January 6, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 3; Jarama and Brunete; Survived.

Holden, Dennis. (Dinny); b. 1891, Carlow; Irish; Domicile Liverpool; Arrived in Spain on December 19, 1936; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 2; Later in cookhouse; Survived.

Hunt, John. b. 1911, Waterford; Irish; Arrived in Spain December 21, 1936;  Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 3; WIA February 27, 1937, Jarama; Survived. Photograph 2

Jefford, Charles. (Jack); 25 years old; Liverpool/Irish; Seaman; Arrived in Spain December 23, 1936; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 1; Sent to labor battalion and Camp Lukas; Repatriated to England September 1937; Returned to Spain November 1937 spent time in Castelldefels; Nominated for expulsion in March 1938 was still jailed in June.

Jones. (Likely Sheldon Starr Jones) b. June 2, 1909, Port Deposit, Maryland; US; Domicile Boothbay Harbor, Maines and Southport, Maryland; Arrived in Spain on February 14, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 1; Survived.

Kelly, Michael J. b. Ballinasloe, County Galaway; Irish; IRA; To Spain from Britain; Arrived in Spain December 1936; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Section Leader; He remained at Villanueva when the unit went to the front but later rejoined the unit; Wounded February 27, 1937, Jarama; Killed in action July 7, 1937, Brunete. Photograph 1, Photograph 3, Photograph 4;

Loughran, J. (“Pop”); Irish from Canada; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 1; WIA Brunete; Survived.

or

(Possibly Thomas Laughran) (“Pop”), b. December 10, 1875 or 1885, Belfast.

McElroy, Albert E. (Bert); b. September 8, 1911, South Dublin; Irish; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 3.

McElroy, Patrick J. (McElvoy ); b. May 22, 1911, South Dublin; Irish; Domicile Dublin; Joined International Brigades January 7, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion; Wounded in action February 27, 1937, Jarama; Survived. Photograph 2

McGrotty, Eamon. b. July 12, 1911, Derry, Irish; Arrived in Spain December 22, 1936; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, Adjutant; Killed in action February 27, 1937, Jarama.

McLarnon, Alan Frederick. b. December 16, 1907, County Armagh; Irish; Arrived in Spain December 23, 1936; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 2; Wounded in action February 23, 1937, Jarama; Survived.

McLaughlin, Patrick Roe. b. December 17, 1902, County Donegal; Irish from the US; Domicile New York;  Arrived in Spain January 6, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1; Four months at the front then transferred to the Artillery; Survived, May have returned to England shortly before leaving for Spain.

Moran, Maurice. (Patrick Morris Moran); b. October 11, 1910, County Mayo; Irish from US; Arrived in Spain January 6, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 2; Did not go to the front with the unit remained at Villanueva; Later rejoined the battalion; Jarama and Brunete; Survived.

Morris, Arthur Walter. Canadian; To Spain from the Lenin School in Soviet Union, Arrived in Spain on February 2, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 3;  Killed in action February 27, 1937, Jarama.

Morrison, William A. b. February 10, 1910, Belfast; Irish; Domicile London; Arrived in Spain December 22, 1936; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 2; Group Commissar; Wounded in action February 23, 1937, Jarama; Survived.

O’Brien, Thomas T.  b. 1911, Dublin; Irish; Domicile Liverpool; Arrived in Spain December 1936; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 1, Group Commissar; Noted as having transferred to battalion transport, he may have rejoined the section; Killed in action February 27, 1937, Jarama. Photograph 4

O’Brien, Tom. b. 1909, Dublin; Irish; Domicile England; Arrived in Spain December 16, 1936; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 1; Survived.

O’Conner, Peter. (Connors);  b. March 31, 1912, Waterford; Irish; IRA; Domicile London, England; Arrived in Spain December 21, 1936; Against the move to the Lincolns but went with the majority decision; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 3; Later assistant Section Leader; Survived. Photograph 1, Photograph 2, Photograph 3, Photograph 4, Photograph 5

O’Donnell, Vincent Francis William. b. August 27, 1904, South Dublin; Irish; Domicile London, England; Arrived in Spain January 26, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion at Jarama; later POW; Survived.

Figure 2. Irish American brothers Charles, Edward and Frank O’Flaherty, from New England Fights for Democracy.

O’Flaherty, Charles. b. October 26, 1904, Norwood, Massachusetts; US; Domicile Boston; Sailed January 9, 1937;  Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column,  Group 1; Later attended Officer Training School and served as a Commissar; Wounded in action; Survived.

O’Flaherty, Edward Coleman. b. December 24, 1910, Norwood, Massachusetts; US; Domicile Boston; Sailed January 16, 1937;  Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Runner; Later transferred to Company 2 as Adjutant and took command of company 2; Survived. Photograph 1

O’Flaherty, Francis Patrick. (Frank); b. May 18, 1908, Norwood, Massachusetts; US; Domicile Boston; Sailed January 16, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 1; Wounded in action at Jarama; Survived.

O’Neil, Stewart. b. December 28, 1900, Irish; Served 1917-25 in the British Army; Arrived in Spain March 30, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Rank Sargento.

Pickards, J. Canada; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2; Connolly Column. Photograph 4

John Powers in Spain, RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 445.

Power, John. (Johnny); b. April 9, 1908, Waterford; Irish; IRA; Domicile London, England; Arrived in Spain December 12, 1936; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 3; Served at Jarama, Brunete wounded, Transferred to British Battalion served at Belchite and the Ebro Offensive; Rank Teniente; Survived. Photograph 2; Photograph 3, Photograph 4

Power, Patrick. (Paddy); b. 1912, Waterford; Irish; Arrived in Spain December 21, 1936;  Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 3; Survived. Photograph 1, Photograph 4

Power, William. b. circa 1912, Waterford; Irish; Domicile England; Arrived in Spain February 4, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion at Jarama and Brunete; Survived.

Regan, James. (O’Reagan); b. May 1, 1911, Cork;  Irish;  Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 3; Served at Jarama, Brunete, Aragon, Belchite, Gandesa during Retreats and Ebro Offensive; Survived. Photograph 1, Photograph 3

Rehill, Joe. b. March 14, 1913, New Brunswick, New Jersey; US; Domicile New Brunswick; Arrived in Spain on February 15, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Section 2, Connolly Column; Survived. Photograph 3, Photograph 4, Photograph 5

Tamler, Bud. (Boris); 21 years old; US; Domicile NYC, and Denver, Colorado; Sailed January 6, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln BN; Was among group sent to the front on February 22, 1937 with minimal training; Became Political Commissar of Section 2, Irish; Later resigned; Broke down at Brunete and deserted; Served at Jarama and Brunete; Survived.

Troxil, Steve. b. August 21, 1911, Holdingford, Minnesota; US; Domicile Youngstown, Ohio; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion; Irish Section; Survived. Photograph 4

Tumilson, William James. (Liam); b. November 10, 1904, Belfast; IRA; Domicile Liverpool, England; Arrived in Spain January 21, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, MG Company, Adjutant later Commander; Killed by a sniper, March 1937, Jarama.

Walsh, Thomas. Dublin Irish; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Scout

Waters, Michael. b. circa 1913, Cork; Irish; Arrived in Spain January 6, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column,  Group 1; Wounded in action February 15, 1937, Jarama; Survived.

Wilson. Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 2, James Connolly Column, Group 1; Did not go to the front with the unit was left at Villanueva.

[i] Emmet O’Conner. Mutiny or Sabotage? The Irish defection to the Abraham Lincoln Battalion in the Spanish Civil War. 2009.

[ii] Roster Co. 1, Section 2, undated, Sandor Voros Spanish Civil War Collection, Series 2, The XVth International Brigade Records, Box 3, Folder 31, Adelphi University Archives and Special Collections, Garden City, NY; This roster was likely completed on or around February 15, 1937; and Political Section Co. 1, undated, Sandor Voros Spanish Civil War Collection, Series 2, The XVth International Brigade Records, Box 3, Folder 31, Adelphi University Archives and Special Collections, Garden City, NY provides information on the political organization of the Section.

[iii] HQ Co. 1, undated, Sandor Voros Spanish Civil War Collection, Series 2, The XVth International Brigade Records, Box 3, Folder 31, Adelphi University Archives and Special Collections, Garden City, NY.

The document is a hand written note that provides updates to the roster for Company 1 from February 15, 1937.  While the document is undated it was likely written not later than February 24, 1937.  It contains the following updates about the Second Section:

Kelly – Left at Villanueva

Doyle – WIA hospital

Wilson at Villanueva

O’Brien T. sick, believed working in transport

Haines – casualty in hospital

Boyle – believed deserted between Albacete and Front

Hayes T. guard at Villanueva

Hedley – to BN HQ

Moran in Villanueva

Powers sick in Villanueva [uncertain which of the

[iv] Fernando Vera Jiménez, “Cubanos en la Guerra Civil Española. La presencia de voluntarios en las Brigadas Internacionales y el Ejército Popular de la República,” Revista Complutense de Historia de America, v. 25, 1999, pp. 295-321. PDF.

[v] Correspondence with Jim Carmody. Various lists of Irish in the Lincoln Battalion; and a transcription of and article in the Weekly Bulletin of Information, (Prensa Extranjera), Valencia, June 28, 1937  with a letter signed by the remaining Irish members in the Lincoln Battalion.

Michael Kelly            Irish Republican Congress

Johnny Power           IRA and Congress

Peter O’Connor         IRA     Waterford

Kevin Blake                IRA     Dublin

Paddy Power              IRA     Waterford

Billy Power                 IRA     Waterford

Jackie Hunt               IRA     Waterford

Allan McLannan      IRA     Waterford (correct name McLarnon)

Paddy Duff                 IRA     Belfast (actually from Dublin)

Jack Nalty                  IRA     Dublin

Joe Kelly                     IRA     Vancouver

[vi] Robert A. Stradling, The Irish and the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939, Mandolin (Manchester University Press), 1999, p. 172.

Sources

McLoughlin, Barry. Fighting for Republican Spain, 1936-38, Frank Ryan and the Volunteers from Limerick in the International Brigade, Ireland: Barry McLoughlin, 2014.

Stradling, Robert A. The Irish and the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939, Manchester: Mandolin (Manchester University Press), 1999

Emmet O’Conner, “Identity and Self-Representation in Irish Communism, The Connolly Column and the Spanish Civil War,” Socialist History, Volume 34 (2009), pp. 36-51. PDF

_____. Mutiny or Sabotage? The Irish defection to the Abraham Lincoln Battalion in the Spanish Civil War. 2009. Online

_____. “Behind the Legend: Waterfordmen in the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War,” Decies: Journal of the Waterford Archaeological and Historical Society, Volume 61 (2005), pages 267-85. PDF

Carmody, Jim.  Correspondence including Lists of Irish in the Lincoln Battalion and a copy of a transcription of the Weekly Bulletin of Information, (Prensa Extranjera), Valencia, June 28^th 1937

Barry McLoughlin, Fighting for Republican Spain, 1936-38, Frank Ryan and the Volunteers from Limerick in the International Brigade, Ireland:  Barry McLoughlin, 2014.

Sandor Voros Spanish Civil War Collection, Adelphi University Archives and Special Collections, Garden City, NY. With invaluable research assistance by Bianca M. LaVeglia.

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In the Jarama Series, The Volunteer Blog will present a series of articles examining the experiences of volunteers in the Abraham Lincoln Battalion from its formation to the Brunete Offensive in July 1937. Articles will focus both on the battalion’s formation as well as on the individuals who served. These articles are intended to provide the reader with a better appreciation of the men and women who made up the first American combat formation in Spain. The series is compiled and curated by ALBA Board Member Chris Brooks.

The Jarama Series: Centuria Antonio Guiteras

The American Communist Party led the recruitment effort for volunteers for the International Brigades. Rodolfo de Armas, a leader in the Cuban exile community independently recruited a Hispanic unit designated the Centuria Antonio Guiteras.[i]  The effort drew the majority of recruits from the Club Julio Mella, a Harlem, New York based political and social group formed by the Cuban exile community. [ii] An estimated 125 club members served in Spain over the course of the conflict.[iii]

Many of the volunteers from the Cuban exile community were radicalized as students. Universities in Cuba reflected a European-style revolutionary tradition of college-based political activism.[iv] The most prominent student organization, the Federación Estudiantíl Universitaria (FEU) [Federation of University Students] became a stronghold of communist ideology and a staunch foe of the Machado and Batista regimes. Students and leaders from the FEU participated in other political organizations and anti-Machado and Batista activities.[v]

While recruitment for the Centuria Guiteras was conducted independently, the US Communist Party paid to equip and transport the unit to Spain.[vi] The first organized group of Guiteras volunteers sailed from New York aboard the Champlain on January 5, 1937.[vii] From Le Havre the volunteers took the boat train to Paris followed by another train to Perpignan on the French border. The next leg was a short bus ride over the border through the Pyrenees Mountains down to the town of Figueres. Leaving Figueres they again traveled by train along the coast to Barcelona finally arriving in Albacete. After formal enrollment in the International Brigades, the volunteers trucked out to the English-speaking training base.

Figure 1. Cuban Volunteers aboard the Champlain. From Mediodia Havana, April 25, 1937. Rodolfo de Armas, 2. Angel Rufo, 3. Alejandro Aceume, 4. Jóse Gueira, 5. Lorenzo Rodriguez, 6. Ricardo Gómez, and 7. Daniel Rivas

The Centuria Guiteras trained with the Abraham Lincoln Battalion at Villaneuva de la Jara and were integrated into the Battalion as Section 3 of Company 1. Rudolfo de Armas served as Section Leader with Juan Landeta as his Commissar. The Section was subdivided into three Groups each led by a noncommissioned officer and a Group Commissar.[viii] Normally a Section numbered approximately 40 men. Estimates on the size of the Centuria Guiteras vary, with a high of sixty volunteers enrolled; however, to date no formal roster for the Section has been located.[ix]

The Battalion command recognized the value of the Guiteras volunteers’ ability to speak both Spanish and English and transferred several volunteers into interpreter positions within the Headquarters.[x] The Cuban volunteers also acted as informal translators for the English-speaking volunteers and their efforts fostered a closer relationship with the townspeople.[xi]

Relations within the Battalion were not always as close.  Friction between some of the Guiteras Section and English speaking volunteers nearly resulted in a bar room brawl. This friction

is noted by Antonio Pacheco Padró in his memoir Vengo del Jarama as a reason that many Cuban volunteers later transferred to Spanish units.[xii]

Early in the evening on February 23, 1937, the Lincolns went over the top in a diversionary attack supported by two Russian T-26 tanks. Almost immediately a Nationalist anti-tank round hit one of the tanks and set it on fire. The second tank made a hasty retreat and the unsupported infantry began to take heavy casualties. Volunteers near the burning tank were illuminated

and those who had advanced past the burning tank were silhouetted. The First Company took the heaviest casualties and Rodolfo de Armas was one of the first. De Armas was hit in the leg and stopped to bandage the wound. He ignored Landeta’s suggestion to fall back for medical treatment. Momements later de Armas was struck in the head and killed. Eladio Paula Boloñas took command.[xiii] The Section began to dig in with shovels brought forward into no-man’s land. Later that evening the Battalion received orders to return to its original starting position.

Four days later, the Section participated in the Lincoln’s second attack against the heights of Pingarrón. The Lincolns were thrown back with far heavier casualties in this attack. Even when Battalion records are available, it is difficult to identify the volunteers killed or wounded in these assaults because, for the most part, they did not differentiate between the two engagements. Data collected for this article indicates that ten volunteers were killed and approximately fifteen wounded during the course of the unit’s service on the Jarama Front.[xiv]

The Lincoln Battalion reorganized in the aftermath of the February assaults. On March 9, 1937, the three sections of the 1^st company merged and were briefly known as the Company Guiteras-Connolly commanded by Edward O’Flaherty.[xv] The Guiteras volunteers likely formed an understrength section. James Hawthorne noted that during a visit to the Jarama Front in April 1937, there was still a recognizable group identified as the Centuria Guiteras. A volunteer identified as “Chicago,” who was like the Cuban-American volunteer Sylvester Friedle commanded this group.[xvi]

It appears that the Centuria Guiteras folded before Brunete. The remaining volunteers either transferred to the 24^th Battalion or to Spanish formations outside the XV Brigade. During the summer of 1937, a number of newly arrived Cuban volunteers were assigned to the Lincoln-Washington’s Co. 3.  While nominally a Spanish formation, the leadership of the company was Cuban. This formation took the name Unidad Cuba or Cuban Unity and continued the traditions of the Centuria Guiteras.[xvii]

Click on the thumbnails below for full size images by the Catalan photographer Agusti Centelles I Ossó.

Cuban and Cuban American Volunteers Associated with the Centuria Antonio Guiteras (*Identified in Vera Jiménez as member of the Centuria)

*Alfonso González, Eugenio. b. October 19, 1904, Union de Reyes; Painter; AF; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras, later with the Spanish 24/59^th Battalion.

*Anceaume y Ramos, Alejandro. 33 years old; Listed military experience as a rifleman most likely in the Cuban Army; Truck Driver; Vice President of the Club Julio Mella; CP 1935; Sailed January 5, 1937 aboard the Champlain; Arrived in Spain on January 14, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; Wounded in action, Jarama, initially believed killed was severely wounded losing an eye.

Rodolfo de Armas y Soto in Barcelona, January 1937. VALB/ALBA.

*de Armas Soto, Rodolfo Ricardo Ramón. (Armas y Soto); b. Havana circa 1912; Student; Graduated from Veterinary School in 1935; Founder of Pro Ley y Justicai (Pro Law and Justice) and active in TNT and Joven Cuba; Arrested and imprisoned for his activities during a strike in February 1935; Some Prior military experience most likely in the Cuban military; Exiled to US; In NYC was active in Club Julio Antonio Mella; CP; Sailed January 5, 1937 aboard the Champlain; Arrived in Spain on January 14, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras, Section Leader; Killed in action February 23, 1937, Jarama.

*Borges Aldama, Norberto. b. circa 1907, Havana, To the US 1928; Attended José Martí University (founded by Julio Antonio Mella which was later closed by the Machado regime); Domicile listed as Julio Mella Club, 5^th Avenue and 116^th Street, NYC; Tobacco Worker; Spanish Worker’s Club, YCL, Harlem Section and WPA Union; Sailed January 5, 1937 aboard the Champlain; Arrived in Spain on January 14, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; Became Section Commissar after Landeta was injured in an accident; Fought at Jarama; Remained with Lincolns until May sent to hospital; Later served as an Instructor of recruits.

*Bridon y Curbie de la Mercedes Gerardo, José.  (José Bridón Barrón; Jose G. Bridon); Sanitary Worker; No party affiliation; Sailed January 16, 1937 aboard the Paris; Arrived in Spain on January 30, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; After leaving Spain was held in a French Concentration Camp.

*Brumet y Zurburan, Arsenio. (Arsenio Brunet); b. NYC; Cuban; Sailed February 6, 1937 aboard the Paris; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; Killed in action date and place unknown.

*Cárdenas, Jorge de Alberto de. 20 years old; ROTC; Aviation Mechanic; YCL and CP 1936; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; Killed in action February 1937, Jarama; Records indicate probably captured on route to front, may have deserted; other sources state killed in action February 23, 1937, Jarama.

Corona Muro, Arturo. (“Coronita”); Cuban; Student; Domicile NYC; CP and CP of Cuba; 36 years old; Sailed January 16, 1937 aboard the Paris; Arrived in Spain January 30, 1937; Served with the XV BDE, Lincoln Battalion, Commander Co. 2, up to February 27; Rank Teniente; Deserted; Had returned by April 1938; Corona was accused of stealing money from a fundraiser for the FALB; Article published in the Daily Worker states he deserted, BDE records indicate same.

Corona, Florintino Alejo. 36 years old; CP Cuba; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion; Company 2; Rank Teniente. 

Basilio Cueria y Obret in Spain, RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 588.

*Cueria y Obret, Basilio. (Orbit, Obrit); b. June 14, 1898; Mariano Havana, Cuba; Afro Cuban, to the US 1920; Parents Jose and Juana Cueria Obret; Primary school education; 4 years prior military service in the Cuban Army; Married; Laborer and former Professional Baseball Player; CP April 1930 (1933), Club Julio Mella, organized the club’; Sailed January 20, 1937 aboard the Berengaria; Arrived in Spain on February 4, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; Transferred to 46th Division “Campesinos,” 10^th Brigade, Commander Special MG Company attached to Division HQ; Served at Jarama, Quijorna, Teruel, Lerida, Balaquer, and the Ebro Offensive; Likely returned directly to Cuba after leaving Spain; d. May 1959, Cuba.

Delgado, Albert F. (Alberto; Adelberto); 25 years old; Prior military service most likely in the Cuban military; Mechanic; Joven Cuba; Sailed January 5, 1937 aboard the Champlain; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion; Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; Transferred to Brigade Headquarters as an interpreter.

Tomas Diaz Collado in Spain, RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 588.

Diaz Collado, Tomas. (Callaco; Callado, Thomas; Crespo Galliano, Herman); b. Caney Oriente, Cuba, to the US 1924; Father Tomas y Francisca; Afro Cuban; 4 years military school in Havana, Cuba; Prior military service, December 1918 to March 28, 1924 in the Cuban Army, rank sub officer of Artillery; Married; Building and Road Construction; No party affiliation, joined CP in Spain; Sailed January 28, 1937 aboard the Aquitania; Arrived in Spain on February 7, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Jarama and Brunete; WIA Villanueva de la Canada; Returned to the US on September 19, 1938 aboard the DeGrasse.

Friedle, Sylvester Frank. (Ray, “Chicago”); Cuban American (?); Single; Seaman; CP 1937; Received Passport# 360283 on January 7, 1937 which listed his address as 3614 North Mozart Street, Chicago, Illinois (Mella Club, 1413 24^th Avenue, NYC); 30 years old; Sailed January 9, 1937 aboard the Lafayette; Served with the XV BDE, Lincoln Battalion; Served at Jarama, and Brunete; Killed in action October 1938, Ebro Offensive.

Garcia, Antonio. 27 years old; Prior military service likely in Cuban military; Blacksmith; Domicile Havana; Anti-Fascist; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion; Kitchen.

*García, Ruperto. Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras.

Godoy Leal,Juan. 44 years old; Prior military service; Barrel Maker; Anti-Fascist; Sailed January 5, 1937 aboard the Champlain; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion.

*Gómez Oliva; Ricardo. b. June 9, 1900, Pinar del Rio, Cuba, to the US 1926; One year secondary school; Prior military service likely Cuban military; Single; Factory Metal Worker; Club Antonio Julio Mella, Founding member and Treasurer; CP August 1933; Sailed January 5, 1937 aboard the Champlain; Arrived in Spain January 15, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras, Group 1, Group Commissar; Wounded in action on February 27, 1937; Later served in a different unit within the Brigade; Wounded in action July 20, 1937 at Brunete; Rank Soldado.

Ricardo Gomez Oliva in Spain, RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 594.

*González Carrea, Armando. b. December 3, 1911, Matamgas; Prior military service likely in Cuban military; Machinery Mechanic (Estivador?); Joven Cuba; Non-CP; Sailed January 5, 1937 aboard the Champlain; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; Wounded in action, Jarama.

González, Armando. 34 years old; Prior military service; Chauffer; American Anti-Fascist.

Granzio Robles, Emilio. (Granizo); Cuban; Sailed January 16, 1937 aboard the Paris; Served with the XV BDE, Lincoln Battalion; Killed in action during the assault on Pingarron on  February 27, 1937, Jarama.
Sources: Americans and Canadians.

*Guijarros, Carlos. (Carlos Bruno Guijarro?); b. Cuba; Tobacco Worker; Domicile Tampa, Florida; CPUSA; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; Killed in action February 23, 1937, Jarama. (Alternate dod Killed in action in the assault on Pingarron on February 27, 1937, Jarama.)

Gueira, José. Sailed January 5, 1937 aboard the Champlain; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3 the Centuria Antonio Guiteras.

Hernández y Valor, Juan Antonio. 32 years old; Prior military service likely in Cuban military; Stone Mason, Club Julio Mella; Sailed January 5, 1937 aboard the Champlain; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion; Wounded in action.

*Hernández Rodríguez, Óscar. 28 years old; No military experience; Single; Typewriter mechanic; Club Julio Mella; CP and YCL both 1930; Former Secretary of the Communist Youth of Cuba; Domicile 1720 Madison Avenue, NYC; Sailed January 20, 1937 aboard the Berengaria; Arrived in Spain February 4, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; Wounded in action, Jarama; Later transferred to Brigade Headquarters  an interpreter; Transferred to the 46^th Division, “Campesinos”; Commissar.

*Hernández Iglesias Lucas, Pedro Lucas. b. NYC or Cuba; Railroad worker; Sailed January 16, 1937 aboard the Paris; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; Adjutant for the Section; Killed in action on February 23, 1937, Jarama; (alternate date February 27, 1937).

*Landeta Valdivia, Juan. (John; Valdivia Landeta, Juan); 22 years old; Cuban American; Attended Worker’s School in New York; No military experience; Single; Student; Domicile NYC; CP 1936, unit organizer, was in movement against Machado in Cuba in 1936, and member of Anti-Imperialist organization in Cuba, briefly imprisoned; Domicile 523 W.143^rd, NYC; Arrived in Spain on January 14, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras, Jarama and Brunete; Section Commissar; Later transferred to the 46^th Division, 10^th Brigade Mixed, Estado Mayor; survived the war and died prior to 1989.

Madurga, Fernando Oliva. 39 years old; Suffered an accident in May and was hospitalized; No military experience; Small businessman and Laborer; Anti-Fascist; Arrived in Spain on February 4, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion; Wounded in action Jarama; Medical commission declared him fit for rear area work and he was assigned to Albacete in December 1937.

*Maldonado Pérez, Miguel. (Maldonado, Miguez Menendez; Maldanado, Menendez, Miguel); Cuban; CP; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; Killed in action February 23, 1937 (Alternate dod February 27, 1937, Jarama).

*Martínez Fernández, Isidoro. Sailed aboard the Órbita; Arrived in June 1937Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; Later with the 2 B. FzBl.; Rank Cabo.

*Mas Ferrer, Rolando. Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras.

*Navarro Cornejo, Aquilino. (Avelino Navarro Conejo; Aquilino Navarro Cornejo); Cuban or Spanish American; Single; Steel Worker; CP 1934; Domicile 1904 Penn Place N. E. Canton, Ohio; Arrived in Spain on February 11, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; Killed in action February 27, 1937, Jarama.

Eladio Paula Bolanos and his brother Aurelio Paula Bolanos in Spain. Ancestry.

*Paula Bolaños, Eladio. (Yayo”; Sail under Eladio Ruiz?), b. December 14, 1916, Tampa, Florida; Cuban American; Plumber, Box Maker and Printer; Domicile 504 Randolph Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and he also listed the Julio Mella Club, 1413 Fifth Avenue, NYC; Sailed January 5, 1937 aboard the Champlain;  Arrived in Spain on January 14, 1937; CP and Joven Cuba; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; Took command of the Section after the death of de Armas Sota; later transferred to Brigade Estado Mayor as an Interpreter, subsequently wounded; Rank Soldado; Attended Officer Training School January 1938, Returned to the US on December 31, 1938 aboard the President Harding; WWII Merchant Marines; d. February 27, 2003, Fort Lauderdale, Florida; His Brother Aurelio was killed in action in August 1938.

*Rivas y Betancort, Daniel. (Ribas); b. September 5, 1910, Rodas; Cuban American; Single; Waiter; CPUSA 1934; Domicile 315 6th Street or 778 Prospect Avenue; NYC; Sailed January 5, 1937 aboard the Champlain; Arrived in Spain on January 12, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; Wounded in action at Jarama; Appointed hospital administrator for Cuban volunteers in Murcia for three months; Rejoined the XV Brigade and fought at Quinto and Belchite where he was again wounded; Killed in action April 1938 during the Retreats.

*Rivero Villanueva, Luis. (Rivero, J.?); 23 years old; Prior military service likely in Cuban military; Business man; Joven Cuba; Sailed January 5, 1937 aboard the Champlain; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; WIA Jarama; Noted as the first man to leave Cuba to defend Spain.

*Rodríguez Betancourt, Antonio. Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; Killed in action February 23, 1937, Jarama.

*Rodríguez Farragut, Gustavo. 35 years old; Cuban American; Member Elevator’s Union, Anti-Fascist, Former CP member; Arrived February 10, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras, Group 3, Group Commissar; Served at Jarama and Brunete; WIA July 24, 1937 Brunete; In hospital until September 1937; Later with Service Sanitaire as an interpreter; Repatriated January 1938.

Rodríguez, Lorenzo. 26 years old; Cuban American;; Prior military service likely in Cuban military; Single; Driver or Chauffer; Domicile 1023 Longwood Avenue, Bronx, New York and Medreno #16, Mariano, Havana, Cuba; Joven Cuba and CPUSA 1937; Sailed January 5, 1937 aboard the Champlain; Arrived in Spain January 14, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Wounded in action February 27, 1937 Jarama; Returned to unit in March; Transferred to Brigade Auto Park; Wounded July 6, 1937 during Brunete; In hospital until August 8, 1937 then transferred to the Albacete Auto Park; Recommended for repatriation in January 1938; WWII US Armed forces.

*Rufo, Ángel. 22 years old; Prior military service likely in Cuban military; Laborer; Anti-Fascist or YCL; Sailed January 5, 1937 aboard the Champlain; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras, Killed in action February 1937, Jarama.

Seaman from Chile, Sterling Rochester, Artemo Luna, Juan Santiago, and Jack Shirai, Jarama 1937.

Santiago, Juan. No information.

*Soler y Tarafa, Óscar. b. June 29, 1895, Tampa, Florida or Havana; Cuban American; Attended a prep school, earned his BA in college and attended Dental school for 2 years; Single; Nurse; Domicile NYC; Club Julio Mella Sailed January 16, 1937 aboard the Paris; Arrived in Spain January 27, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; Later with Service Sanitaire, Evacuation, as an Interpreter;  Rank Sargento; Served at Jarama, Brunete, Quinto, Belchite, Fuentes de Ebro, Villanueva del Pardillo, Pozo Blanco and Balcazar;  WIA February 20, 1937, Jarama, July 12, 1937 Brunete, Belchite superficial wound, and October 26, 1937 Fuentes de Ebro; Last unit Medical Clinic No. 17; Repatriated.

Albert Solis Mesa in Spain, RGASPI Fond 545. Opis 6, Delo 601.

Solis Mesa, Alberto. (Albert); b. August 7, 1909, Havana, Cuba, To the US 1933; Cuban American; Married; Student; Domicile 1413 Fifth Avenue, NYC; Director Julio Mella Club inNYC, Anti-Fascist, joined CP of Cuba in Spain; Spanish CP; Sailed January 16, 1937 aboard the Paris; Arrived in Spain January 27, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 2;  wounded in action(?) at Jarama, Brunete, Quinto and Belchite; Later transferred to 35th Division. Appointed Responsible for Americans in Pontones; Rank Soldado; Member of the Committee of Ex-Combatants; WWII US Armed Forces.

Sotolongo, Jose. 35 years old; Cuban American; Painter; Domicile 102 E 103^rd Street, NYC; Club Julio Mella; Anti-Fascist; Arrived in Spain February 10, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade; Lincoln and Lincoln-Washington Battalion; Served at Jarama, Brunete, and the Aragon; Repatriated January 1938; WWII Armed Forces.

Tisa, John. b. April 6, 1914, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Mixed Cuban and Italian descent; Attended Brockwood Labor College; Single; Writer; YCL  and CP 1935; Organizer YCL; Domicile 214 Benson Street, Camden, New Jersey; Sailed January 5, 1937 aboard the Champlain; Arrived in Spain on January 13, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Co. 1, Section 3 Centuria Guiteras; Later with Company 2; Was selected for the Historical Commission and helped publish the Book of the XVth Brigade;  Later with Commissariat Service and Editor of The Volunteer; Served at Jarama; Returned to the US on April 15, 1939 aboard the George Washington; WWII Armed forces; d. December 12, 1991.

John Tisa. Photograph courtesy Tisa family.

*Triana y Quintana, Ricardo. (Richard); b. circa 1913; Prior military service; Painter; Domicile NYC; Anti-Fascist, Club Julio Mella; Sailed January 21, 1937; Arrived February 6, 1937; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; WIA March 1 (15), 1937 hit in right shoulder, Jarama; Later with another unit within the Brigade and was WIA Aragon. 

Volunteers of Other Nationalities in the Centuria

Arana, Eduardo. Basque emigrant from Peru; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; brother of Guillermo Arana.

Arana, Guillermo. Basque emigrant from Peru; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; brother of Eduardo Arana.

Castro, Esmeraldo. (Leoane, Louis); b. March 16, 1914, Caguas, Puerto Rico; Puerto Rican or Cuban American, Secondary Education; Student; No Party; Domicile NYC gave the Jullio Mella Club at 314 5^th Avenue as his address; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Jarama, Brunete and Aragon; WIA; Released for repatriation September 23, 1937; In hospital Pontones until November 14, 1937; Transferred to Albacete Auto Park; Repatriated January 1938; Returned to the US on May 26, 1938 aboard the Washington; Domicile on return 12 E 110 Street, NYC; WWII US Army, joined May 1941; d. April 1992.Slated for repatriation in September.

Dominguez, Bienvenido. 36 years old; Prior military service likely in Cuban military; Painter; Anti-Fascist; Sailed January 5, 1937 aboard the Champlain; Served with the XV  Brigade, Lincoln Battalion.

Fernández Artucio, Hugo. Uruguayan living in NY; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras.

Antonio Pacheo Padre from Vengo del Jarama, Glorias y Horrores de la Guerra.

Pacheo Padre, Antoinio. (Padro); Puerto Rican, 25 years old; Passport# 12152 Purerto Rico series listed his address as San Juan Puerto Rico; No prior military service; Journalist; Anti-Fascist; Sailed January 20, 1937 aboard the Berengaria; Served in the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Co. 1, Section 1; May have served with the unit at the front; Listed as missing after February 27^th; Transferred to the 46^th Division, “Campesinos”; Survived.

Roel Jimenez, Carlos. b. November 4, 1904, Monterey, Mexico, to the US June 1915; Elementary school education; Single; Metalworker; Domicile McKeesport, Pennsylvania (family in San Antonio, TX); Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras.

Carlos Roel Jimenez in Spain, RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 619.

Rojas, José Camilo. Mexican; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Company 1, Section 3, Centuria Antonio Guiteras; (From Vera Jiménez, no additional information found in RGASPI.)

Roldan, Roberto. (Lasús, Norbert Roldán); 33 years old; Puerto Rican; Prior military service in US Army; Chauffer; CP; Served with the XV Brigade, Served as a Brigade Interpreter.

Unconfirmed Potential Guiteras volunteers

1) Potential Guiteras volunteers who Sailed January 5, 1937 aboard the Champlain.

G. y Fernandez, Faustino.

Ereaua, Ricardo.

Manuel y Rodriguez, Fernando Sabas.

Martinez, Emil. Possibly Martí, Emilio or Martínez, Emilio listed in Cuba en España.2) Potential Guiteras volunteers identified in Ana Suarez Diaz, “75th anniversary of the death of Antonio Guiteras , 1935-2010, The “Centuria Guiteras.”

Cortina Pérez, Armando. AfroCuban from New York; Stated “Simply doing his antifascist duty.” Wounded at Jarama.

Feliciano Matos, Mones. Union member from 1929; CP 1929; Arrived March 4.

Gamiz y Cabrera, Domingo. b. August 4, 1892, Havana, Cuba; Afro Cuban; Elementary Education; Served in the Cuban Army, 4 years (1913-17), Coastal Artillery, Medic, rank Sergeant;   Married; Cook member Hotel and restaurant workers union and Former baseball player with the Almendares Club; Club Julio Antonio Mella,  CP Cuba 1930 and Spanish CP; Domicile NYC; Sailed January 23, 1937 aboard the Champlain; Arrived in Spain February 2, 1937; Served with the Artillery, 11th Regiment, 2nd Group, 14th Battery (John Brown Battery), 155mm Guns, as a cook and medic; in January 1939 he was in Villanueva de Castellon awaiting repatriation; May have served in the XV Brigade, Lincoln Battalion, Guiteras Section where he was wounded in action.

Angel Garcia in Spain, RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 593.

Garcia Gomez, Angel. b. December 19, 1904, Santiago, Cuba, to the US 1925 (illegal immigrant?); Afro-Cuban American; Primary school education; Single; Cook and Seaman; YCL and CP 1937; Domicile NYC; Arrived in Spain February 17, 1937; Served with the Vth Army Corps, 1st Regiment de Tren; 3rd Squadron; Rank Sargento; later demoted.

Lamar, Acosta. No information.

Magranet Iglesia; Juan. (Magraner Iglesias);  b. Havana, Cuba; Cuban American; 31 years old; Domicile 80 5^th Avenue, NYC; Food worker’s union; One of the founders of the Club Julio Mella CPUSA; Arrived in Spain April 22, 1937 or March 30, 1937; Served with the XV BDE, Driver; later 2^nd Group of Artillery, 40 Division, Anti-tank battery; and  124^th Brigade Mixed, Artilleryman and Driver; Rank Soldado; Notes as one of the last of the 125 members recruited within the Mella club to arrive in Spain.

Juan Magraner in Spain, cubanosenlaguerracivil.blogspot.

Paula Bolaños, Aurelio. (“Kuki”); b. December 30, 1904, Tampa, Florida; Cuban American; Elementary School education; No military experience; Married (separated for 6 years); Tobacco Worker; CP 1932; Domicile 528 West 158th Street, NYC (this was his wife’s address), and 504 Randolph Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (this was his brother’s address where he actually lived); CP May 1932; Sailed February 1938; Arrived in Spain February 18, 1938; Served with the XV Brigade, Lincoln-Washington Battalion, Company 3, Rank Cabo; Killed in action August 1938, Corbera Church, Ebro Offensive; Brother of Eladio and Jose Manuel.

Paula Bolaños, José Manuel. Brother of Aurelio and Eladio. No verification that he served in Spain.

Rodríguez, Rolando. Sailed January 20, 1937 aboard the Berengaria. Possibly Rodríguez Arias, Rolando who was killed in action listed in Cuba en España.

Santana, José Rodríguez. 22 years old; Worker; Domicile NY; Sailed January 16, 1937 aboard the Paris; Wounded in action, Jarama. 3) Potential Guiteras volunteers identified in Denise Urcelay-Maragnès, La Leyenda Roja.

Cruz, John. Spanish; Sailed January 20, 1937 aboard the Berengaria.

Fidias Bueno. G. Ecuadorian; Sailed January 20, 1937 aboard the Berengaria; Listed in Vera Jiménez, Cubanos en la Guerra Civil Española, Cuba en España notes killed.

Manuel Céspedes, Felipe. (Felipe Martínez,Jorge); Puerto Rican; Served with the 86^th Brigade, 20^th Battalion and was killed in action on April 17, 1937 at Cordoba; was not part of the Lincoln Battalion.

Pérez, Maldonado, García. Killed in action, Jarama possibly Miguel Maldonado Pérez listed above.

Rodriguez, José. Spanish; Sailed January 20, 1937 aboard the Berengaria. There is a José Cobos Rodriguez listed as having served with the 63^rd Brigade as a Soldado; and a José Adrias Rodriguez; Not sure if either sailed on that date (RGASPI).

Rodriguez, Óscar. Spanish; Sailed January 20, 1937 aboard the Berengaria;4) Potential Guiteras volunteers from other sources.

Rojos Valdez, Felipe. (Felipe Rodriguez Valdez, Rajas); 33 years old; b. Havana, Cuba; Cuban;  Cigar Maker; Domicile, Tampa, Florida; Sailed January 9, 1937 aboard the Lafayette; Returned to the US on September 24, 1938 aboard the President Harding.

[i] The Centuria Antonio Guiteras was named in honor of the Cuban politician Antonio Guiteras y Holmes (1906-1935). Guiteras was a leading politician in Cuba during the 1930s. As a student leader he worked closely with Julio Antonio Mella. Guiteras was appointed Minister of the Interior under President Dr. Ramón Grau San Martín and initiated numerous reforms including a minimum wage, labor regulations, academic freedom, and nationalization of important sectors of the economy. Guiteras advocated an ideology of violent confrontation of authority but remained an advocate of Democracy. After the overthrow of Grau’s administration Guiteras became more radical. He founded Joven Cuba (Young Cuba). He died on May 8, 1935 in Matanzas, under mysterious circumstances.
[ii] The Club Julio Mella formed in 1931 was named in honor of Julio Antonio Mella (25 March 1903-10 January 1929), a founder of the “international” Cuban Communist Party and the Federación Estudiantíl Universitaria (FEU).  Mella studied law at the University of Havana until he was expelled in 1925.  Mella was assassinated in Mexico in 1929.
[iii] Denise Urcelay-Magranès, La Leyenda Roja, Los voluntaries Cubanos en la Guerra civil Española, (León: Lobo Sapiens, 2011), 42.
[iv] Ana Suarez Diaz, ““75 Aniversario de la Muerte de Antonio Guiteras, 1935-2010, La “Centuria Guiteras ” De Nueva York al Frente de Jarama (1937),” Caliban, Revista Cubana de Pensamiento e Historia, April, May, June, 2010: 31.
[v] Volunteers noted membership in a wide range of other political organizations including: el Partido comunista de Cuba (PCC) [Cuban Communist Party]; Joven Cuba [Young Cuba] a Cuba based political organization founded by Antonio Guiteras that expressed a strong anti-imperialist and anti-capitalism agenda; the Organización Revolucionaria Cubana Antimperialista (ORCA) [Cuban Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist Organization], a New York based group established in 1935; ORCA’s founders included Rodolfo de Armas, Aurelio Paula Bolonas, both of whom volunteered and died in Spain, and Jose Manuel. Others included el Partido Revolucionario cubano (Auténticos) PRC-A, Izquierda Revolucionaria (IR), and Partido Agrario Nacional (PAN). Gerardo Machado y Morales (September 28, 1871-March 29, 1939) was a general of the Cuban War of Independence and President of Cuba from 1925 to 1933. In 1925 General Machado succeeded Dr. Zayas as President. In 1933 attempted to overturn the Constitution and ran unopposed for a second term in 1928; significant unrest eventually forced out of office in 1933; spent his remaining years in exile in the US.; Fulgencio Batista (January 16, 1901-August 6, 1973) took part in the 1933 Revolt of the Sergeants that overthrew the authoritarian rule of Gerardo Machado. Batista then appointed himself chief of the armed forces, with the rank of Colonel, with effectively control of the five-member Presidency. In 1940 Bautista was elected president for a four year term. When his choice of successor for the presidency was defeated he took control by military coup. In 1952 Batista again ran for and was elected President. He ran the country until his regime was overthrown by Castro’s forces. In the aftermath of the Cuban revolution Batista went into exile first in the Dominican Republic and later in Portugal and Spain0. He died of a heart attack and was buried in Spain.
[vi] Initial Guiteras volunteers received identical Army surplus uniforms and wool-lined leather coats as other Lincoln volunteers. See the photographs accompanying “Jarama Series: Parades in Barcelona,” The Volunteer, Blog, January 5, 2016.
[vii] Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, Sail List; Urcelay-Magranès. La Leyenda Roja, 43. Indicates that French records state the ship actually sailed on January 3, 1937.[viii] HQ Company 1 (undated) Sandor Voros Spanish Civil War Collection, Series 2, The XVth International Brigade Records, Box 3, Folder 31, Adelphi University Archives and Special Collections, Garden City, NY.

Political Section Company 1

[ix] Urcelay-Magranès, La Leyenda Roja, 54
[x] Roster Notes, Co. 1, undated, Sandor Voros Spanish Civil War Collection, Series 2, The XVth International Brigade Records, Box 3, Folder 31, Adelphi University Archives and Special Collections, Garden City, NY.The document is a hand written note that provides updates to the roster for Company 1 from February 15, 1937.  While the document is undated it was likely written not later than February 24, 1937.  It contains the following updates about the third section:Sect 3 Cuban – Re[illegible] to Brigade HQ as interpreter. . .Sect 3 Cuban – Paula – transferred to Brigade HQ as interpreter, subsequently wounded – in hospitalSect 3 Cuban – Delgado, to Brigade HQ as interpreter, also Hernandez, J.
[xi] John Tisa, Recalling the Good Fight, An Autobiography of the Spanish Civil War; (Massachusetts: Bergin and Garvey Publishers, 1985), 25.
[xii] James D. Fernández, “Spaniards and Latinos in the International Brigades,” The Volunteer, provides a section from Antonio Pacheco Padró, Vengo del Jarama:  Glorias y Horrores de la Guerra, (San Juan, Puerto Rico: Talleres Tipograficos Baldrich, 1942),60-61.
[xiii] Fernando Vera Jiménez, “Cubanos en la Guerra Civil Española. La presencia de voluntarios en las Brigadas Internacionales y el Ejército Popular de la República,” Revista Complutense de Historia de America, 25 (1999): 309.
[xiv] The following volunteers are identified as having been killed on February 23^rd:  de Armas Soto, Rodolfo Ricardo Ramón; Cárdenas, Jorge de Alberto de; Hernández Iglesias Lucas, Pedro Lucas; Maldonado Pérez, Miguel; and Rodríguez Betancourt, Antonio.The following three volunteers are identifies as having been killed on February 27^th: Granzio Robles, Emilio; Guijarros, Carlos; and Navarro Cornejo, Aquilino.The following two volunteers are identified as having been killed and are tentatively listed: Rufo, Ángel (Jarama no date); and Brumet y Zurburan, Arsenio (date and place unknown).The following volunteers are identified as having been wounded during the Jarama Campaign: Anceaume y Ramos, Alejandro (Jarama no date);  Gómez Oliva; Ricardo (February 27); Gamiz y Cabrera, Domingo (Tentative Jarama  no date); González Carrea, Armando (Jarama no date); Hernández y Valor, Juan Antonio (no date); Hernández Rodríguez, Óscar (Jarama no date); Madurga, Fernando Oliva. (Jarama no date); Paula Bolaños, Eladio (Jarama no date); Rivas y Betancort, Daniel  (Jarama no date); Rivero Villanueva, Luis (Jarama no date); Rodríguez, Lorenzo  (Jarama February 27); Soler y Tarafa, Óscar  February 20); Solis Mesa, Alberto. (Jarama no date); Triana y Quintana, Ricardo (Jarama either March 1^st or 15^th).This list is significantly smaller in wounded than the 10 dead and 31 wounded between late February and April noted by Suarez Diaz, “75 Aniversario de la Muerte de Antonio Guiteras, 1935-2010, La “Centuria Guiteras ” de Nueva York al Frente de Jarama (1937),”  De New York in front of Jarama (1937),” 38.
[xv] Vera Jiménez, “Cubanos en la Guerra Civil Española. La presencia de voluntarios en las Brigadas Internacionales y el Ejército Popular de la República,” 295-321.
[xvi] James Hawthorne. “Cubans and Americans in Spain.” Noon, Havana, May 5, 1937, p. 13. Cited in Suarez Diaz, “75 Aniversario de la muerte de la Muerto de Antonio Guiteras , 1935-2010, The “Centuria Guiteras ” De New York in front of Jarama (1937),” 39.
[xvii] Suarez Diaz, “75 Aniversario de la Muerte de Antonio Guiteras, 1935-2010, La “Centuria Guiteras ” de Nueva York al Frente de Jarama (1937),”  40.  Homer Meruelos Commanded the Company and Florentino Ortiz served as the Company Commissar.
Sources

Articles
James D. Fernández, “Spaniards and Latinos in the International Brigades,” The Volunteer. Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives.
Suarez Diaz, Ana. “75 Aniversario de la Muerte de Antonio Guiteras, 1935-2010, La “Centuria Guiteras ” de Nueva York al Frente de Jarama (1937),” Caliban, Revista Cubana de Pensamiento e Historia, (April, May, June, 2010).Vera Jiménez, Fernando. “Cubanos en la Guerra Civil Española. La presencia de voluntarios en las Brigadas Internacionales y el Ejército Popular de la República,” Revista Complutense de Historia de America, 25 (1999), 295-321.
Junquera, Naltalia, “The Brigadista Was Cuban,” El País, March 1, 2010, English Translation.

Archives
Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI) ((Российский государственный архив социально-политической истории (РГАСПИ)); Guide to the Records of the International Brigades (Comintern Archives, Fond 545)
Sandor Voros Collection, Spanish Civil War Collection, Adelphi University Archives and Special Collections, Garden City, NY. [Special thanks for the invaluable research assistance by Bianca LaVeglia.]

Books
Alfonso Bello Alberto and Juan Pérez Diaz, Cuba en España, Havana: Ciencias Sociales, 1990.
Tisa, John. Recalling the Good Fight, An Autobiography of the Spanish Civil War; Massachusetts: Bergin and Garvey Publishers, 1985.
Urcelay-Magranès, Denise. La Leyenda Roja, Los voluntaries Cubanos en la Guerra Civil Española, León: Lobo Sapiens, 2011.

Documents
Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (VALB), Sail List.

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In the Jarama Series, The Volunteer Blog will present a series of articles examining the experiences of volunteers in the Abraham Lincoln Battalion from its formation to the Brunete Offensive in July 1937. Articles will focus both on the battalion’s formation as well as on the individuals who served. These articles are intended to provide the reader with a better appreciation of the men and women who made up the first American combat formation in Spain. The series is compiled and curated by ALBA Board Member Chris Brooks.

Suicide Hill and the First Attack

Suicide Hill

The Lincoln Battalion arrived at the Jarama Front early in the evening on February 16, 1937 and were led to a reserve position on a hill just behind the lines.  The staff officer who acted as a guide advised the leadership that they would be under fire in the morning.[i]  Though away from the front line they were within range of Nationalist weapons. The men dug in with their bayonets and helmets because they lacked entrenching tools.  The physical labor helped keep the men warm and by the morning they had scooped out shallow trenches.[ii]

The following morning at 7am the Nationalists took note of the Lincolns and began a sporadic bombardment of the position.[iii]  One volunteer piped up as the shells landed, “What the hell are they trying to do — kill us?”  The joke fell flat.[iv] The men huddled in their slit trenches as the shells landed. Designated observers maintained watch and one, Charles Hamilton Edwards, was shot in the head.  Edwards from Cincinnati, Ohio served seven years in the US Army and later worked as a seaman and yacht designer.  Just before he was shot he told another volunteer, “You got to keep your head down. There’s a sniper shooting at us here.” [v]  Within the hour the battalion suffered a second fatality. Misak Chelebian, an Armenian American furniture maker, died when he was hit by shrapnel.[vi]

The Lincoln battalion received picks and shovels and continued to improve their trenches over the next five days.  Additional volunteers were wounded but no additional fatalities occurred despite the addition of aerial bombardments on the position the Lincoln’s named “Suicide Hill.”[vii]

The Moonlight Walk

Captain James Harris returned on February 20^th.[viii]  He informed the leadership that he was in charge and would lead the unit on military exercise. Captain Merriman was away at Brigade Headquarters.  The Battalion formed up and moved off at 10pm.  Harris led the unit behind the Republican front lines and then into no-man’s land.  Between the lines Harris began exhibiting odd behavior.  When asked by several staff officer where they were going he replied, “Follow the North Star.” Commissar Stember who accompanied Harris assumed command.[ix]  Merriman rushed back to the Battalion and Harris was escorted to the rear.[x]  The Lincolns returned to their position on Suicide Hill. Miraculously the unit suffered only one casualty despite having wandered between the lines for nearly an hour.[xi]

On February 21 the Lincolns shifted from their reserve position to a supporting second line trench.  While the Battalion moved, part of a section from the Machine Gun Company under the command William Herrick was detached and assigned to support the 6^th of February Battalion.  Later that afternoon the 6^th of February Battalion came under attack by a Moorish unit and with the assistance of the Lincoln machine gunners beat back the assault.  After the assault the detachment rejoined the Battalion. [xii]

The following day the battalion moved into front line trenches in preparation for the unit’s first attack.[xiii] William Herrick’s section received orders to deploy his gun on the left flank to support the attack.  While emplacing the gun Herrick was hit in his neck ending his frontline service. He was the first of many casualties that day.[xiv]

The First Attack

Promptly at 3pm on February 23 the Lincoln Battalion went over the top in its first attack.  Two Russian T-26 tanks advanced in support of the attack.  Company One left the trenches first. Company Two spread out to cover Company One’s section of the trench and followed Company One into no-man’s-land ten minutes later.  The Machine Gun Company provided fire support until one-by-one each of the guns jammed.[xv]

A well placed Nationalist anti-tank gun hit one of the T-26 tanks and it burst into flames.  The second tank beat a hasty retreat.[xvi] The flames of the first tank illuminated the men near the burning vehicle and silhouetted the men who advanced in front of it.[xvii]

Heavy fire from the Nationalist trenches caused the unsupported advance to stall.  Casualties began to mount. Losses among the Cuban, Centuria Antonio Guiteras, Section were especially high.  Rodolfo de Armas the Section Leader, was killed along with four other Cubans.[xviii]  At least four other men from the company were wounded.[xix]  John Scott, the Company Commander, was shot.  Three additional volunteers were wounded and one killed during the attempt to bring him to an aid station.  Scott died later that night.[xx]  Bill Henry from the Irish Section, James Connolly Column, took over command of the company.

Bill Henry spread his men out a couple of hundred yards from the enemy trenches and ordered them to dig in. Details from the MG Company brought picks and shovels forward.[xxi] Dutch stretcher bearers worked their way out into no-man’s-land and carried the wounded back.  Sixty casualties were reported in the assault though this number is likely inflated.[xxii]

Brigade sent down word at 10pm to pull the men back to their start points.  The men quietly stood up and ran back to their trenches.[xxiii] Many of the men were bitter over the losses that they regarded as pointless.  Merriman blamed the attack’s failure on a lack of flank support.[xxiv] The attack was a foretaste of events to come.

Partial Listing of Men Killed or Wounded Through February 23

Killed in Action in the First Days (3)

Chelebian, Misak. February 17

Edwards, Charles Hamilton, February 17

Aviezer, Elias Canadian February 22 (also listed as February 27)

Killed in Action in the First Attack (10)

Cárdenas, Jorge de Alberto de. Cuban, February 23

de Armas Soto, Rodolfo Ricardo Ramón. Cuban, February 23

Greenleaf, Robert Webster. February 23

Henry, William. Irish, February 23 (also listed as February 27)

Hernández Iglesias Lucas, Pedro Lucas Cuban February 23 (also listed as February 27)

Ladman, Louis. February 23

Maldonado Pérez, Miguel. Cuban, February 23

Rodríguez Betancourt, Antonio. Cuban, February 23

Scott, John. February 23

Van der Brugge, Adrian. Canadian, February 23

Casualties in the First Days (7)

Daduck, Stephen. Evacuated for mental issues

Harris, James. Evacuated for mental issues

Herrick, William. WIA February 23

Waters, Michael, Irish, WIA February 15

Dames, James. Canadian, WIA February 17

Doyle, John. Irish, WIA February 17

Donovan, Michael. Irish, WIA February 19

Soler y Tarafa, Óscar. Cuban, WIA February 20

Casualties in the First Attack (6)

Curtin, Edward. Irish, WIA February 23

Frait, William. WIA February 23

Haines, Joseph F. Irish, WIA February 23

Kornblatt, Samuel, WIA February 23

Litvinas, Anthony. WIA February 23

McLarnon, Aland Frederick. Irish, WIA February 23

Morrison, William A. Canadian of Irish descent, WIA February 23

Author’s Note:  The sources on the early days at Jarama are often contradictory with different dates assigned to the same events.

Sources

Carroll, Peter N. The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1994.

Eby, Cecil, Comrades and Commissars, The Lincoln Battalion in the Spanish Civil War, University of Pennsylvania: University Park, Pennsylvania:, 2007.

Geiser, Carl, Prisoners of the Good Fight, Americans Against Franco Fascism, Lawrence Hill and Company, Westport, Connecticut, 1986.

Herrick, William. Jumping the Line, The Adventures and Misadventures of an American Radical, Oakland, California: AK Press, 1998.

Landis, Arthur. The Lincoln Brigade, New York: Citadel, 1968.

Rolfe, Edwin. The Lincoln Battalion, New York: Stratford Press, 1939.

Tisa, John. Recalling the Good Fight, An Autobiography of the Spanish Civil War; Massachusetts: Bergin and Garvey Publishers, 1985.

Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI) ((Российский государственный архив социально-политической истории (РГАСПИ)); Records of the International Brigades (Comintern Archives, Fond 545)

Lincoln Rosters, undated, RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 47, ll. 1, International Brigade – 17 Battalion – Lincoln Men Arrived February 5, 1937;  ll. 3-4,  Roster of the Lincoln Brigade, undated; ll. 5-6, International Brigade (Lincoln), undated;  and ll. 7, 18/2 1937.

Missing Probably Dead (Complete to September 10, 1937), RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 51, ll. 11.

[i] The Staff officer was the Austrian Trauslitz. Arthur Landis, The Lincoln Brigade, (New York: Citadel, 1968), 44-45; Edwin Rolfe, The Lincoln Battalion, (New York, Stratford Press, 1939), 33.

[ii] Landis, The Lincoln Brigade, 45; John Tisa, Recalling the Good Fight, An Autobiography of the Spanish Civil War; (Massachusetts: Bergin and Garvey Publishers, 1985) 38-39;  William Herrick, Jumping the Line, The Adventures and Misadventures of an American Radical, (Oakland, California: AK Press, 1998), 157-58.

[iii] The actual time the bombardment began is unclear. Landis states 7am. Landis, The Lincoln Brigade, 45; and Tisa states 6am. Tisa, The Lincoln Battalion, 39.

[iv] Cecil Eby, Comrades and Commissars, The Lincoln Battalion in the Spanish Civil War, (University Park, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania, 2007), 53-54.

[v] Rolfe, The Lincoln Battalion, 36-37; Tisa, Recalling the Good Fight, 39; Landis, The Lincoln Brigade, 45.

[vi] Landis, The Lincoln Brigade, 46.  Recently Chelebian’s grandson traveled to Spain to see the battlefield where his grandfather fell.

[vii] Rolfe, The Lincoln Battalion, 34.

[viii] Landis and Herrick both maintain that Harris was still in command at this point and he was not relieved until after the Moonlight March. The date is not clear in any record but the event most likely occurred on February 20.  Herrick, Jumping the Line, 163-164; Landis, The Lincoln Battalion, 46-47; Rolfe does not mention the incident.

[ix] Landis, The Lincoln Brigade, 47; Peter N. Carroll, The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1994), 99.

[x] Carroll, The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, 99.

[xi] Herrick, Jumping the Line, 163-164.

[xii] Herrick, Jumping the Line, 167-170.

[xiii] Tisa, Recalling the Good Fight, 41; Landis, The Lincoln Brigade, 65.

[xiv] Herrick, Jumping the Line, 171-172.

[xv] Eby, Comrades and Commissars, 60.

[xvi] Landis, The Lincoln Brigade, 64-69; Rolfe, 40-43; Tisa, Recalling the Good Fight, 41-45.

[xvii] Eby Comrades and Commissars, 61.

[xviii] Tisa, Recalling the Good Fight, 42.

[xix] Compiled by the author. Assessing casualties in the first attack is complicated by a lack of records and a tendency to list men killed at Jarama as having been killed on February 27^th.

[xx] Tisa, Recalling the Good Fight, 44 Rolfe, The Lincoln Battalion, 43-49.

[xxi] Landis, The Lincoln Brigade, 66.

[xxii] Landis states 20 killed and 40 wounded, Landis, The Lincoln Brigade, 69;  and Carroll states 20 killed, nearly 60 wounded; Carroll, The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, 100.

[xxiii] The darkness covered this amateur movement which could easily have resulted in heavy casualties; Landis, The Lincoln Brigade, 69; Rolfe, The Lincoln Battalion, 49-50.

[xxiv] Carroll, The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, 100.

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In the Jarama Series, The Volunteer Blog will present a series of articles examining the experiences of volunteers in the Abraham Lincoln Battalion from its formation to the Brunete Offensive in July 1937. Articles will focus both on the battalion’s formation as well as on the individuals who served. These articles are intended to provide the reader with a better appreciation of the men and women who made up the first American combat formation in Spain. The series is compiled and curated by ALBA Board Member Chris Brooks.

Pingarrón

After making its first attack on February 23, 1937, the Abraham Lincoln Battalion continued to take casualties in the days leading up to their next assault. Despite reorganizing and receiving reinforcements, they were ill-prepared for their next battle. On February 27, 1937, the attack on Pingarrón left the Lincoln Battalion as a hollow shell.

A Rude Awakening

On February 24, Jack Lenoris and George Jacobs woke up in no-man’s-land about 30 yards from the enemy trenches they charged the previous night. They lay huddled behind a small tree in a depression that they scraped out during the night. The two somehow missed the order to retire. Shortly after dawn they realized that they were all alone and exposed. Recognizing that they needed to fall back, they crawled and made short dashes between cover, slowly making their way toward friendly lines. Nationalist riflemen and machine gunners fired at them whenever they showed themselves. Alerted by the Nationalist fire, the remainder of the Lincolns attempted to provide covering fire. Despite their best efforts, Lenoris was cut down by machine gun fire. Jacobs eventually made it back, sprinting the last fifty yards and jumping into the trench. Exhausted and wearing a uniform tattered by bullets, Jacobs was sent to the rear.[i]

Snipers

Nationalist snipers continued to take their toll on the Americans. After assisting with the evacuation of Company One Commander John Scott the night before, Joe Gordon, was hit by a sniper during the morning of February 24. He was blinded in one eye and evacuated to a hospital. Other soldiers were less fortunate.[ii]

Later that morning the cookhouse sent up tubs of coffee to the front lines. Robert Webster Norwood, a 27-year old volunteer from Maine, dipped his cup in and stood up. “Come on boys, dig in. I’ve got mine” he said. “This is my last cup.” Moments later a sniper’s bullet pitched him face first into the coffee.[iii] A sniper claimed Alonzo Watson the Quartermaster for Company One the following day. Watson was hit crossing a section of paved road that that intersected the trench line. The waist-high wall of sandbags constructed on the road provided insufficient protection. Watson, a WWI veteran, was the first African American volunteer to die in Spain.[iv]

Reorganization

The Battalion leadership required reorganization after the assault on February 23. Stephen Daduk the Battalion Adjutant “cracked up” and was sent to a hospital.[v] Merriman shifted Douglas Seacord from command of the Machine Gun Company into the Adjutant slot. The Connolly Column’s William Henry, who assumed command when John Scott was killed, was confirmed as Commander of Company One. John (Eamon) McGrotty was appointed as Company One Adjutant.[vi] Andrew Royce continued to command Company Two with Sidney Levine as his Adjutant.[vii] The Machine Gun Company was under the command of another Irish volunteer William James Tumilson.[viii]

Reinforcements

Seventy-three, rudimentarily trained reinforcements arrived on February 26. The reinforcements included Sidney Levine, Robert Klonsky, Charles Nusser and John Lenthier.[ix] Having arrived in Spain no more than two week earlier those who survived learned to be soldiers through on-the-job training and mentoring by earlier volunteers. Years later, Charlie Nusser, who volunteered at the VALB office, noted that he only fired three rounds through his rifle before going into combat. He jokingly accused Moishe Brier, one of the first volunteers and fellow VALB office volunteer, of being “overtrained.” Brier along with the first group of Lincolns had fired five rounds into a hillside before reaching the Jarama Front.[x]

The Plan

Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Copic the commander of the XVth Brigade brought his battalion commanders together before dawn on February 27, to brief the plan to take Pinigarrón and drive the Nationalists back across the Jarama River. The attack would begin at 7 AM with an aerial bombardment and strafing of the enemy trenches. An artillery bombardment would begin when the aircraft departed.  These actions would pin down the enemy.  Tanks would then lead the assault providing covering fire and crushing the wire. The 24^th Spanish Brigade would leave its trenches and begin advancing. Once the Spanish troops reached the Lincoln’s front line they would leave their trenches. The Spanish were to provide flank support for the Americans who would push forward and capture the enemy trenches. Republican reserves would consolidate and secure the heights of Pingarrón.[xi] Merriman believed the plan was sound based on the briefing and was a “good use of all arms.”[xii]

Disaster

The plan began to unravel from the beginning. Bad weather pushed the start time to 10 AM. Merriman recalled that the artillery started at “9:50 and the 24^th Brigade started to go forward” probably encouraged by the appearance of two tanks that fired a few rounds before pulling back. The 24th Brigade took heavy casualties and fell back to their trenches.”[xiii] The Lincolns initiated a firefight with the opposing trenches to provide covering fire for the 24th Brigade. The volume of Nationalist return fire suppressed the Lincolns.

Merriman called Brigade Headquarters and asked where the promised air and tank support was. Copic gave “vague responses” suggesting the attack was delayed. He then asked if the Lincolns had deployed an aviation signal. Merriman was instructed to put out a signal on the nearby road.[xiv] Two men volunteered to emplace the signal. Joseph Streisand and Robert Pick dashed into the road and laid out the signal a large T pointing toward the enemy lines. They were cut down by machine gun fire before they could return to the safety of the trenches.[xv]

Copic called the Lincolns to ask why they had not advanced. He told Merriman that the 24^th Brigade had passed the Lincolns and required support. Merriman could clearly see that the 24^th were still in their trenches and told him so. Copic ordered Merriman to begin the assault. Merriman prepared to lead the attack in person. Two brigade staff officers arrived at that moment with order to remove Merriman from command if he failed to order the attack.[xvi]

Merriman blew a whistle and clambered out of the trench followed by his men. It was approximately 12 noon. Just steps out of the trench, he was smashed backward by a bullet and pulled back into the trench. Merriman whose shoulder was broken in five places told a runner to inform Seacord that he was now in charge. Seacord was already dead along with many other volunteers caught in no-man’s-land by the enemy machine gunners.[xvii]

The Lincolns were too green to realize they should have taken cover or retreated. Section leader Robert Taylor recalled seeing the crisscrossing tracers from Nationalist machine gun’s interlocking fire and watching volunteers being cut down as they advanced unknowingly into the stream of bullets. Lincolns wounded and dead from the first company, covered the battlefield. The second company left the trenches and met the same fire. Survivors soon realized that further advance was impossible and men took whatever cover they could find. Dutch stretcher bearers who attempted to help the wounded were shot down.[xviii] Some of the new recruits went over the top carrying their packs. One, John Lenthier an actor from Boston, was shot down and lay “like a turtle” as he bled out.[xix]

A rain shower in mid-afternoon probably saved many lives as the Nationalist snipers had trouble identifying additional targets. Eventually darkness fell and survivors, including the wounded who were able to move, climbed back into the trenches. Survivors began to venture out into no-man’s-land to look for wounded. The dead remained in the field. The dead would be recovered over the next few weeks. The body of Milton Rappaport was never recovered. He was reported to have been the only volunteer to reach the enemy wire.[xx]

On the morning of February 27 the Lincolns numbered 263 men. The following morning only about 150 were still in the trenches. Most of the Lincoln’s command staff was among the dead and wounded. David Jones who started the day on February 27 as a commissar became the acting battalion commander during the battle. When notified of his battlefield promotion he exclaimed, “I don’t know about military things a f**k.” Jones was fortunate that the Nationalist did not launch a counter attack because he was hard pressed to man his section of the trench.[xxi]

Killed

(1)

Lenoris. Jack. February 24

Norwood, Robert Webster. February 24

(2)

Hansen, Harald Werenskjold. February 25

Watson, Alonzo. February 25

(56)

Arnold, Sidney Milton. February 27

Barale, Louis. February 27 (alt April 24 Morate de Tajuña)

Burdick, Milton. February 27

Campbell, Joseph. Canadian, February 27

Carlson, Carl Joseph. February 27

Chapoff, Samuel. February 27 (28)

Cohen, Abraham. February 27

Cohen, Abraham. February 27

Cohen, Bernard. February 27

Garcia, Andres Menandes. Canadian, February 27

Granzio Robles, Emilio. Cuban, February 27

Guijarros, Carlos. Cuban, February 27

Haskell, Daniel Irving. February 27

Hathaway, William. February 27

Jelin, Maurice. February 27

Juirdana, John. February 27

Kunz, John. February 27

Lackey, Frederick D. Canadian, February 27

Ladman, Louis. February 27

Liaskovsky Yuri (George). Canadian, February 27

Leige, Clare (Clair, Leige). Canadian, February 27

Lenthier, John. February 27

Lenway, Clyde. February 27

Leppo, Ernest Carl. February 27

Liaskovsky, Yury. Canadian of Ukrainian descent, February 27 (?)

Mantell, Benjamin Martin. February 27

Marinoff, Nicholas. Canadian, February 27

Martinez, Emil. February 27

McGroty, Eamon. Irish, February 27

Milijkovic, Jure. Canadian of Croatian descent, February 27 (Lincoln?)

Mitchie, Thomas W. (Michie), Canadian, February 27 (Possibly Lost Trucks) MIA

Morris, Arthur Walter. Canadian, February 27 (February 21)

Morris, Arthur Walter. Canadian, served with Irish, February 27

Navarro Cornejo, Aquilino. Cuban, February 27

Niepold, Paul. February 27

O’Brien, Thomas T. Irish, February 27

Pappas, Philip. February 27

Pekow, Milton. February 27

Perez, Carmelo Ramon. February 27

Pick, Robert Carl. February 27

Rappaport, Milton Mordecai. February 27

Romani, Angelo Christo. February 27 (With the Lincolns ?)

Rosenthal, Julius. February 27

Rufo, Ángel. Cuban, February 27

Russell, Michael. Canadian, February 27 (28)

Schwecke, Arthur. February 27

Schwecke, Hellmath F. February 27

Seacord, Douglas. February 27

Shapiro, David. February 27

Soich, George. February 27

Steiner, Emil Karl. February 27

Streisand, Joseph. February 27

Tieger, Rudolph. February 27

Tseronis, John. February 27

Witt, Arthur Williams. February 27

Missing in Action

(1)

Blaser, Emil Micky, Irish American, February MIA

Wounded in Action

(16)

Beattie, Henry Scott. Canadian, WIA February 27

Fennelly, William. Irish, WIA February 27

Gómez Oliva; Ricardo. Cuban, WIA February 27

Hunt, John. Irish, WIA February 27

McElroy, Patrick J. Irish, WIA February 27

McGrotty, Eamon. Irish, WIA February 27

Merriman, Robert H. WIA February 27

Reinleb, Hyman. WIA February 27

Rodríguez, Lorenzo. Cuban, WIA Jarama February 27

Ryan, Lawrence K. Canadian, WIA February 27

Schneiderman, Rubin. WIA February 27

Smith, Dave. WIA February 27

Smith, Levin Smith, Jr. WIA February 27

Wallach, Harry. WIA February 27?

Lysetz, Hryhorii. Canadian of Ukrainian descent, WIA February 27 Lincolns???

Wheeler, William J. WIA February 27

(1)

Stanley, Patrick. Irish, WIA February Jarama

(13)

Anceaume y Ramos, Alejandro. Cuban, WIA Jarama no date

Cox, Patrick John Colum. Irish, WIA Jarama

Gamiz y Cabrera, Domingo. Cuban, WIA Tentative Jarama no date

González Carrea, Armando. Cuban, WIA Jarama no date

Hedley, Jack. English (served with Irish), WIA Jarama

Hernández Rodríguez, Óscar. Cuban, WIA Jarama no date

Hernández y Valor, Juan Antonio. Cuban, WIA no date

Madurga, Fernando Oliva. Cuban, WIA Jarama no date

O’Flaherty, Francis Patrick. WIA Jarama

Paula Bolaños, Eladio. Cuban, WIA Jarama no date

Rivas y Betancort, Daniel. Cuban, WIA Jarama no date

Rivero Villanueva, Luis. Cuban, WIA Jarama no date

Solis Mesa, Alberto. Cuban WIA, Jarama no date

Sources

Carroll, Peter N. The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1994.

Eby, Cecil. Comrades and Commissars, The Lincoln Battalion in the Spanish Civil War, University of Pennsylvania: University Park, Pennsylvania: 2007.

Landis, Arthur. The Lincoln Brigade, New York: Citadel, 1968.

Merriman, Marion and Warren Letrude, American Commander in Spain, Robert Hale Merriman and the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, University of Nevada Press: Reno, Nevada, 1986.

Rolfe, Edwin. The Lincoln Battalion, New York: Stratford Press, 1939.

Tisa, John. Recalling the Good Fight, An Autobiography of the Spanish Civil War; Massachusetts: Bergin and Garvey Publishers, 1985.

Archives

Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI) ((Российский государственный архив социально-политической истории (РГАСПИ)); Records of the International Brigades (Comintern Archives, Fond 545)

Lincoln Rosters, undated, RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 47, ll. 1, International Brigade – 17 Battalion – Lincoln Men Arrived February 5, 1937;  ll. 3-4,  Roster of the Lincoln Brigade, undated; ll. 5-6, International Brigade (Lincoln), undated;   and ll. 7, 18/2 1937.

Missing Probably Dead (Complete to September 10, 1937), RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 51, ll. 11.

Sandor Voros Collection, Spanish Civil War Collection, Adelphi University Archives and Special Collections, Garden City, NY. [Special thanks for the invaluable research assistance by Bianca LaVeglia.]

[i] Edwin Rolfe, The Lincoln Battalion, (New York, Stratford Press, 1939), 51-52.; and  John Tisa, Recalling the Good Fight, An Autobiography of the Spanish Civil War; (Massachusetts: Bergin and Garvey Publishers, 1985), 44.

[ii] Joe Gordon returned to the Lincoln Machine gun Company and fought at Brunete.  He was repatriated but elected to return to Spain in the Spring of 1938.

[iii] John Tisa, Recalling the Good Fight, An Autobiography of the Spanish Civil War; (Massachusetts: Bergin and Garvey Publishers, 1985), 45.

[iv] Arthur Landis, The Lincoln Brigade, 77.; Company No. 1, H. Q. Staff, undated, Sandor Voros Spanish Civil War Collection, Series 2, The XVth International Brigade Records, Box 3, Folder 31, Adelphi University Archives and Special Collections, Garden City, NY

[v] Marion Merriman and Warren Letrude. American Commander in Spain, Robert Hale Merriman and the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, Reno, Nevada: University of Nevada Press, 1986), 106.

[vi] Arthur Landis, The Lincoln Brigade, (New York: Citadel, 1968), 72.

[vii] Lincoln Battalion Co. 2, undated, Sandor Voros Spanish Civil War Collection, Series 2, The XVth International Brigade Records, Box 3, Folder 30, Adelphi University Archives and Special Collections, Garden City, NY; Eugene Morse and Martin Hourihan have also been listed as company commanders for Co. 2.

[viii] Lincoln Battalion Officers, undated, Sandor Voros Spanish Civil War Collection, Series 2, The XVth International Brigade Records, Box 3, Folder 30, Adelphi University Archives and Special Collections, Garden City, NY

[ix] Landis, The Lincoln Brigade, 77.

[x] Charles Nusser conversation with the author.

[xi] Cecil Eby, Comrades and Commissars, The Lincoln Battalion in the Spanish Civil War, (University Park, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania, 2007), 70.

[xii] Merriman, American Commander in Spain, 106.

[xiii] IBID. 107.

[xiv] IBID.

[xv] Landis, The Lincoln Brigade, 80-81; and Eby, Comrades and Commissars, 72.

[xvi] Eby, Comrades and Commissars, 72-73.

[xvii] IBID, 74.

[xviii] IBID, 76-77.

[xix] Peter N. Carroll. The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1994) 101.

[xx] Tisa, Recalling the Good Fight, 47-53; Landis, The Lincoln Brigade, 78-86.

[xxi] Carroll, The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, 101-102.

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Shedding Light on a Volunteer for Liberty

Alphaeus Danfourth Prowell: Letters from an American Volunteer in the Spanish Civil War
Compiled and Self-Published by Dawn Rolland.
Sold through Amazon, Apple iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and OverDrive.

Dawn Rolland’s self-published compilation of letters written by Alphaeus Danfourth Prowell is short but fascinating.  This work adds to the growing body of information on African American volunteers in the Spanish Civil War.  Prowell, was living in Los Angeles when he volunteered to serve in the Spanish Civil War.  College-educated and a teacher by vocation, Prowell was part of a small but active group of African American leftists in his native city.

Upon his arrival in Spain in September 1937, Prowell trained with other recruits in Tarazona the XV Brigade’s training base.  After completing training as an infantryman he was retained to serve as part of the training cadre. Prowell volunteered for frontline service during the March 1938 Nationalist breakthrough in the Aragon, and was killed in action on April 3, 1938.

The published collection consists of five typed-copies of letters drawn from the Lisette and Sam Kutnick Abraham Lincoln Brigade Collection, in the Labor Archives and Research Center, San Francisco State University.  The letters are written to “Harry”, an unidentified friend, and date from shortly after Prowell’s arrival in Spain through November 1937.  The letters discuss a mixture of family matters, observations from his travels to Spain, and reports of events in Spain.  Prowell also provides updates on the activities of several other African American volunteers from his circle of friends in LA: Frank Alexander, Otto Reeves, Norman Lisberg, and Aaron Johnson.  He also makes pointed observations on race relations in Spain discussing not only the reaction of Spanish civilians, but also those of his fellow International Brigade volunteers.  Prowell also provides a critique of the reaction to perceived racism by African American volunteers.

This collection of letters is part of a larger, in-depth, genealogical study by Dawn Rolland.  During her research, conducted over the past five years, Rolland expanded her search to include Prowell’s circle of friends from Los Angeles who also fought in Spain. Her larger work Alphaeus Prowell: An Unordinary Life, which promises to shed additional light on Prowell and these West Coast volunteers, is scheduled for publication in March.

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In the Jarama Series, The Volunteer Blog will present a series of articles examining the experiences of volunteers in the Abraham Lincoln Battalion from its formation to the Brunete Offensive in July 1937. Articles will focus both on the battalion’s formation as well as on the individuals who served. These articles are intended to provide the reader with a better appreciation of the men and women who made up the first American combat formation in Spain. The series is compiled and curated by ALBA Board Member Chris Brooks.

Aftermath

The February 27, 1937 attack on Pingarrón left the Abraham Lincoln Battalion in a precarious position. In addition to heavy losses among the rank and file, most of the Battalion’s leaders were either killed or wounded.  As a result, no more than 180 men were left to hold the frontline trenches.[i]  David Jones who assumed command during the attack quickly passed the baton to Phillip Cooperman.[ii]

Casualty Evacuation

Evacuating the wounded was one of the first tasks to tackle after the attack.  While the simple volume of casualties made the task daunting, the evacuation was severely impeded because many of the Dutch stretcher bearers were killed or wounded in the battle.  Despite herculean efforts, the surviving medical personnel simply were overwhelmed.

Many wounded volunteers made their way back to the trenches during the attack or after nightfall.  Some made it back with the aid of their fellow volunteers who assisted or carried wounded comrades back to the trenches when they pulled back.  The haphazard evacuation resulted in wounded volunteers scattered throughout the trenches.  Due to the sheer number of wounded many remained in the trenches through the night into the morning.  Because of the high number of wounded and the lack of a centralized casualty collection point many volunteers died before they could be evacuated.  Surviving Lincolns were pressed into service to transport the wounded to the ambulance evacuation point nearly a mile to the rear.

Leadership

The Brigade Headquarters sent Captain Amandus Van den Berghe, a Belgian staff officer, to help fill the leadership void.[iii]  Van den Berghe took command of the battalion and proved a good choice.  He provided a steadying hand during the immediate aftermath of the February 27 attack.  Van den Berghe recognized the men’s need to vent about the disastrous attack and helped restore the Battalion’s command structure (Figure 2).[iv]

The Lincolns who remained in the trenches were shocked, angry, and demoralized.  Many felt that the Lincolns were needlessly sacrificed.  Others believed that they should be pulled out of the line to receive additional training.  Surprisingly, the men’s demand for a meeting with the Brigade leadership was granted.[v]

The Lincolns left a handful of men to watch the Nationalist lines while the remainder slung their rifles, walked to the rear, and assembled in the courtyard of the cookhouse for the meeting on March 1.[vi]  Brigade leadership listened to the Lincoln’s grievances and presented the case for the importance of their actions on February 27.  According to John Tisa the men returned to the front reinvigorated.[vii]  A more pessimistic assessment stated that “five men carried the petition to [Lieutenant] Colonel Copic, who passed it on as evidence of American insubordination and mutiny.”[viii]

The Lincolns moved back into their frontline positions and settled into the day-to-day grind of trench warfare.  The men cleaned their weapons and stood their appointed watch.  A slow trickle of wounded and ill went to the rear. A near equal number of men returned from hospitals or went forward from the training base.  The Lincoln’s long trench vigil would last another 120 days.

Figure 2. Lincoln Battalion Officers*

Battalion Commander — Amandus (Armand) Van Den Berghe

Battalion Secretary — Philip Cooperman

Supply and Transport — Alfred Leo Tanz

Staff Officer Hagilow  — John Hagilaou

Battalion Physician — Dr. William Pike

Machine gun Company

Commander — Liam Tumilson (Irish from Liverpool)

Assistant — Patrick Roe McLaughlin (Irish from US)

Runner — George Zoule

Political Leader — Vahram.Kevorkian

Map Maker — Maxwell Hall (aka Gilber Hall Grober)

Section 1

Section 1 Leader — Raymond Steele

Asst. Section Leader — Norman Duncan

Group 1 Leader — Rubin Ryant

Group 2 Leader — Alfred Ripps

Group 3 Leader — Oliver Law

Section 2

Section 2 Leader — Herman (Hyman) Abramowitz

Group 1 Leader — Steve Tsermegas

Group 2 Leader — John R. Tracka

Group 3 Leader — Sidney Crotto

Infantry Company

Section 1     

Section 1 Leader —  Robert Gladnick

Asst. Section  Leader — Roger Bilodeau  (Canadian)

Group 1 Leader — [M. Kuonaly] possibly Max Robert Klonsky

Group 2 Leader — Charles A. Worden

Group 3 Leader — Joseph Bedard (Canadian)

Section 2**

Section 2 Leader — Robert Wolk

Group 1 Leader — [Teitlebaum] Morris Granat

Group 2 Leader — [Panioglou] likely George Panagiotou, or Theodoros M Pangalos,

Group 3 Leader — Sylvester Frank Friedle

Section 3

Section 3 Leader — Edward O’Flaherty

Asst. Leader — David Jones

Group 1 Leader —Hugh Bonner (Irish)

Group 2 Leader — Thomas Hayes (Irish)

Group 3 Leader — Albert E. McElroy (Irish)

*Lincoln Battalion Officers, undated (March 1937), Sandor Voros Spanish Civil War Collection, Series 2, The XVth International Brigade Records, Box 3, Folder 30, Adelphi University Archives and Special Collections, Garden City, NY.

** A notable omission on the organization above is lack of personnel from the Centurio Guiteras Column.  Surviving members of the section are noted as being merged with the Irish Section on March 9. It is possible that at this point the surviving members were clustered in Group 3 of Section 2 under Sylvester Freidle. Arturo Corrona, who is listed as having commanded Company 2 on February 27 in some sources, is also noticeably absent from the list and may have filled the role of Infantry Company Commander which is not listed on the document.

Sources

Carroll, Peter N. The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1994.

Eby, Cecil. Comrades and Commissars, The Lincoln Battalion in the Spanish Civil War, University of Pennsylvania: University Park, Pennsylvania: 2007.

Landis, Arthur. The Lincoln Brigade, New York: Citadel, 1968.

Rolfe, Edwin. The Lincoln Battalion, New York: Stratford Press, 1939.

Tisa, John. Recalling the Good Fight, An Autobiography of the Spanish Civil War; Massachusetts: Bergin and Garvey Publishers, 1985.

Archives

Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI) ((Российский государственный архив социально-политической истории (РГАСПИ)); Records of the International Brigades (Comintern Archives, Fond 545)

Lincoln Rosters, undated, RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 47, ll. 1, International Brigade – 17 Battalion – Lincoln Men Arrived February 5, 1937;  ll. 3-4,  Roster of the

Lincoln Brigade, undated; ll. 5-6, International Brigade (Lincoln), undated;   and ll. 7, 18/2 1937.

Sandor Voros Collection, Spanish Civil War Collection, Adelphi University Archives and Special Collections, Garden City, NY. [Special thanks for the invaluable research assistance by Bianca LaVeglia.]

[i] The exact number of volunteers who remained in the trenches after the attack varies significantly from a low of 100 to a high of 183. (Cecil Eby, 180; Edwin Rolfe, approximately 173; Peter Carroll, 150; Arthur Landis, 100.) Cecil Eby, Comrades and Commissars, The Lincoln Battalion in the Spanish Civil War, (University Park, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania, 2007), 83.; Edwin Rolfe, The Lincoln Battalion, (New York, Stratford Press, 1939), 57.;  Peter N. Carroll. The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1994),102.; Arthur Landis, The Lincoln Brigade, (New York: Citadel, 1968), 90.

[ii] Carroll stated that David Jones took command of the Lincolns in the aftermath of the attack on February 27.  Landis in contrast states that Phil Cooperman, the battalion secretary, took command and handed it over to Van den Berghe.  Eby, in contrast, states that Cooperman refused command and the Cuban volunteer Arturo Corona commanded the Lincolns. Corona likely took command of Company 2 from Andrew Royce after his breakdown.  It is likely that Corona was in command of the Battalion at some point during the action. Carroll. The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, 101-102; Landis, The Lincoln Brigade, 57; and Eby, Comrades and Commissars, 75-78.

[iii] Armand Van den Berghe was born on February 6, 1900 in Imeerheebe (Smeerhebbe), East Flanders (Flandres Orient), Belgium.  During WW I he enlisted in the Carabiniers in 1914 and served through 1918 rising to the rank of Sergeant.  After the war he attended a Mining School in Paris, France from 1920 to 1922 graduating as a Mining Engineer.  His wife Marguerite (Margot) was a member of the Belgische Werklieden Partii (BWP) the Belgian Socialist Party. Van den Berghe was politically active in the Christian Folksparty in Belgium and participated in demonstrations against “Nation Belge” an anti-semitic right wing Belgian party.   He received a three day jail sentence as a result of one demonstration.

When the Spanish Civil War broke out Van den Berghe and his wife volunteered their services.  The Communist Party cell in Toulouse endorsed their request.  Van den Berghe arrived in Spain on January 5, 1937 and joined the XVth International Brigade as a Soldado or private in the 6^th of February Battalion.  Marguerite joined the staff of the hospital at Valls as a nurse.  Shortly after his arrival Van den Berghe applied for membership in the Communist Party.

Van den Berghe rapidly rose in rank and attained the rank of Captain on the Jarama Front.  The Brigade sent Van den Berghe to command the Lincoln Battalion after the disastrous assault on Pingarrón on February 27 left the battalion without leadership.  Van den Berghe turned command over to Martin Hourihan in March 1937 due to illness.  After recovering Van den Berghe served on the Brigade staff and fought at Brunete, Quinto and Belchite.  It appears that he moved to the 35^th Division as the commander of an Engineer (Zapator) unit and commanded it at Huesca and Teruel.

Van den Berghe attained the rank of Major (Mayor) by the end of the war.  He is remembered as the highest ranking Belgian in the International Brigades.  After the war he moved to Switzerland with his wife.
Van der Berghe Biografia de Militantes, April 10, 1938 Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI), Records of the International Brigades Comintern Archives Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 299,  ll 33-34.; Email, Ray Hoff to Brooks, March 1, 2016, includes details on Van den Berghe from Sven Tuytens and  Ward Adriaens, Vrijwilligers voor de vrijkeid.

[iv] Eby, Comrades and Commissars, 92.

[v] The Brigade Command could easily have regarded the actions of the men as a mutiny.  All of the Battalions within the brigade took heavy casualties at Jarama.

[vi] Eby, Comrades and Commissars, 85.

[vii] John Tisa, Recalling the Good Fight, An Autobiography of the Spanish Civil War; (Massachusetts: Bergin and Garvey Publishers, 1985), 56.

[viii] Eby, Comrades and Commissars, 85.

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Robert Hale Merriman, Chief of Staff of the XV International Brigade, disappeared behind enemy lines. His body was never recovered. What happened? Two memoirs and an interview give conflicting versions.

Robert Merriman, (Tamiment Library, NYU, 15th IB Photo Collection, Photo # 11-0634)

Editor’s Note:

Robert Hale Merriman, Chief of Staff of the XV International Brigade, disappeared behind enemy lines in a desperate attempt to escape encirclement during the great Retreats in the early spring of 1938. His body was never recovered, which created an air of mystery as to what happened in his last campaign. Among the surviving Americans, a consensus emerged that suggested Merriman was killed outright or captured and executed later. Interviews with veterans who were in close proximity to Merriman concur that he was in command when the head of the retreating column departed a hill outside Gandesa on the evening of April 2, 1938. Leonard Lamb, John Rujevcic Gerlach (aka Ivan), Nick Pappas, and Milton Wolff were among those with Merriman just prior to his disappearance. During the movement, they remembered, Merriman’s group stumbled into a Nationalist encampment and in the dark and confusion of the engagement Merriman was either killed or captured.

In recent years memoirs by veterans Albin Ragnar and Fausto Villar Esteban emerged to challenge the accepted version of the events leading to Merriman’s disappearance. Both of these veterans of the XV Brigade present their accounts authentically and sincerely despite writing their versions many years after the events they describe.

Recently, however, NYU’s Tamiment Library Director Timothy Johnson discovered a two-page manuscript, part of the newly-acquired Joseph North papers, that includes a contemporaneous interview with Lincoln veteran Fred Keller that reinforces the accuracy of the original accounts. To sort out these differences, ALBA turned to Christopher Brooks, a member of the ALBA Board and a U.S. Army veteran. The following analysis focuses on the key issues surrounding Merriman’s fate.

Alvah Bessie (Tamiment Library, NYU, 15th IB Photo Collection, Photo # 11-0176)

The XV Brigade was resting in positions around Belchite on the eve of the Nationalist Offensive known as The Retreats. The men were thawing out after the rigors of Teruel and Segura de los Baños and the officers and NCOs were integrating replacements. Beginning on March 9, 1938, The Nationalists pierced the Republican lines and shattered the XV Brigade in a series of running battles. After the defense of Caspe on March 17, 1938, the battered remnants of the XV Brigade were evacuated to an area outside Batea. There it was hastily rebuilt with the addition of replacements from the training camp; rear-area jobs; barely-healed men from the hospitals; and brand new Spanish conscripts. Alvah Bessie who joined the Lincoln-Washington Battalion on March 18 from a training camp was shocked to find that the battalion on his arrival consisted of a little more than 100 dejected survivors “disorganized, sitting, lying, sprawling on the ground. They had week-old beards; they were filthy and lousy.” On March 30, the battalion received new arms and munitions but time had already run out. The next morning the Nationalists resumed their offensive and approached the raw, untested and brittle XV Brigade.

This second phase of The Retreats proved an unmitigated disaster for the Republican Army. Rapidly moving Nationalist motorized columns punched through the Republican lines and penetrated deep into their rear. In a space of only three days the XV Brigade ceased to exist as a fighting force.

Cut off by the advance of Nationalist forces and cognizant that the British Battalion had already been destroyed, Merriman took charge of a mixture of elements, including the Brigade Staff, the Lincoln-Washington Battalion, and the XI International Brigade. Realizing the danger posed in being trapped behind the lines Merriman attempted to break out of the encirclement. He disengaged from the Nationalists and during the night of April 1, he force marched his command back to a hill just outside Gandesa.

The following morning Merriman attempted to break through Nationalist forces attacking Gandesa to reach Republican lines. The attack failed and survivors of the attack retreated to the hill and regrouped. During the remainder of the day, they faced down an enemy cavalry attack and hunkered down under desultory artillery fire. As dusk approached, the men formed into a column and at nightfall filed off the hill in the direction of Corbera and the Republican lines.

Ivan Rujevcic [alias John Gerlach] (l.) and David Doran . Oct 1937 (Tamiment Library, NYU, 15th IB Photo Collection, Photo # 11-0756)

Night movements are extremely difficult under the best of circumstances and Merriman was operating in less than optimal conditions. As the column moved, men soon lost contact with one another and the column fragmented into smaller elements. The lead company and the headquarters element lost contact with one another. John (Ivan) Gerlach led the headquarters element, consisting of about 30 men from the Brigade and Lincoln-Washington staffs, which became by default the head of the column. As their column moved along a cattle trail marked on their map, Gerlach realized that they had accidentally stumbled into a Nationalist encampment. Challenged by a sentry, the column scattered. Gerlach and Joe Brandt bolted straight ahead. Others retreated back in the direction from which they had traveled. It appears that Merriman and Dave Doran, the XV Brigade Commissar, unintentionally plunged deeper into the camp. Gerlach and Brandt stated they heard gun shots and the order in Spanish, “Manos arriba” (Hands Up). The consensus agrees that Merriman and Doran, the two highest ranking American officers in the XV Brigade were killed or captured at that time.

Albin Ragner, an Armenian American who served as a front-line rifleman in almost every battle the XV Brigade fought, recalled Merriman’s fate differently in a memoir written long after the war:

We were about eight or nine miles east of Gandesa during the retreat. We were on a high hill, good for defense. We had about 100 to 120 men here. We heard what sounded like tanks behind the hill to our front. I said to him [Merriman], “It sounds like enemy tanks ahead.” He said, “It can’t be, they must be ours.” He didn’t heed what I said and Merriman and two others went to the hill and over. He was captured there. Later the fascists executed him. (“Albin Ragner: An Unpublished Memoir” was published on ALBA’s The Volunteer blog February 27, 2013)

Ragner’s account placing the location eight or nine miles outside Gandesa indicates that Merriman was captured at least 24-hours prior to the timeline set in the consensus version. Because the memoir presents several inconsistencies, it is possible that Ragner assumed that Merriman was captured on April 1. If that were the case he would not have been available to plan and lead the breakout from Gandesa. 

Fausto Villar Esteban, a Valencian conscript who served with the Lincoln-Washington Battalion from October 1937 until his capture on April 2, 1938, provided yet another account. In his unpublished memoir, Villar stated that Merriman was killed around 11 a.m. while leading the attack on Nationalist troops assaulting Gandesa on April 2. The attack was an attempt to punch a hole through Nationalist forces that would have allowed the remnants of the XV Brigade to cross back into Republican lines. Villar wrote that before the failed attack Merriman addressed the troops:

With a voice trembling with emotion, Merriman tells us all that, sad to say, the enemy has us surrounded, but that the Lincolns will break out of the noose, to which end we are to make a frontal assault on a single point, and that, as ever, he, Merriman will lead the Lincolns into this attack.

The Brigade moved down from the cover of the hill and began to cross a vineyard. As the troops entered open, flat terrain the Nationalists opened fire. Villar recalled with horror:

His machine-guns can mow down our Brigaders to their heart’s content; with no protection against this, the Brigaders are hitting the dirt.

There is panic.

We drop to the ground, seeking the only shelter we can find; the flattened furrows in the exposed vineyards, facing the enemy horizontally.

Laying prone under fire, Villar sought a way to escape but found that any movement “draws ferocious fire from the Francoist machine-guns.” While pinned down, he locates his former commander Lieutenant James Cody.

Above me, in a furrow higher up the slope, and a little forward of me, is Cody.

In the next furrow, higher still and forward of Cody, is Merriman; looking higher up, I find that there is no one else in sight. I have not laid eyes on Lamb since our retreat began and Doran I cannot see right now.

I call out to Cody, to tell him in my awful English, that we have to make our move: ‘Cody, it is necessary to move because, before or after, they will kill us off in this site.’

From Cody there is no response.

I call out to him again and again; ‘Cody, hear me. We need to move from here.’

I shout out repeatedly but he does not answer.

Cody is flat out like all the rest of us, but his face is twisted to the left, as if he is looking at Merriman, and so I call out to Merriman, once, twice, thrice, I don’t know how many times, but there is no response from Merriman either, in spite of my pleas for an answer. This time I address them both at once, in Spanish: ‘Por favor, contestarme!’ Then in my flawed English I plead with them: ‘Please, tell me something, Cody. Please, Merriman! Please!’

Reluctant though I am to credit it, by my reckoning their silence means that they are both dead; and the Battalion is facing horrific slaughter.

Beside myself with worry, I call out to them both again, but there is no response.

Anna Martí, in her article “In the footsteps of the Lincoln-Washington Battalion,” (published in the ALBA Blog on July 1, 2012), discussed Villar’s unpublished memoir. She concluded that the vagaries of time and memory “. . . may explain the many inconsistencies in his account” which was written almost 40 years after the events. Villar left the site of the action shortly after the failed attack and Nationalist cavalrymen captured him the following morning. Marti ends her observations with the question “Who says that Merriman could not have escaped from that situation and returned safely to the battalion?”

Fred Keller’s account, fresh in memory and documented in 1938, clearly affirms the accuracy of the original reports. His interview with Joe North refutes Ragnar’s version by establishing that Merriman was still alive and planned the attack on Nationalist forces at Gandesa during the morning of April 2. Villar’s account parallels Keller’s up to the point of the attack on Gandesa. Keller’s account refutes Villar and confirms that Merriman survived the failed attack and participated in the subsequent retreat during which Merriman disappeared.

Report of Freddie Keller Upon Action April 1 and 2

Fred Keller , Dec 1937 (Tamiment Library, NYU, 15th IB Photo Collection, Photo # 11-0940)

When we went into action Doran was in charge of one group, Copic of another. The English were demolished almost from the beginning when they walked into 12 whippet tanks. Two companies were gone, their leadership. The Mac-Paps saw no action on the first day. Our sector consisted of the Lincoln-Washington battalion, two of the XI, and one company of Mac-Paps. With fascist avions and artillery heavy, we had to retreat.

We on the other side were doing very good. Took prisoners, the fascists had heavy casualties. We were opposed by young troops. Then the Caseres sector gave way toward Gandesa. They cut us off and there was no way out. We were on the Batea road, about five kilometers to the left. About 4:30 p.m., April 1 we got the order to move. We and the XI were being reorganized. We were to take a place parallel to the Gandesa road, but before we got there the column broke. We abandoned material after breaking it up so it wouldn’t be any good any more.

We marched nine hours to the heights of Gandesa. The fascists were fighting to get into town. They were fighting the Listers. Merriman’s idea was that we attack them from the rear. His entire strategy was to break through the weakest spot in the fascist line, then fight them off. We went down anyway, had some casualties. There was some three, four hours of fighting. Just as we’re getting ready, the fascists pulled up with columns of motorized cars, some 40 tanks, plenty of artillery. We evacuated up a high hill, two kilometers from the town, up among the pines. Before evening fascist cavalry attacked. We fired on them with machineguns.

We started out in columns to head in the general direction for Corbera. We figured we could get there before the fascists. We came across [a] big danger spot in crossing the Villalba road. Not many of us got past before we were fired on. (Incidentally Honeycomb led a scouting party at that point and he ran away.) In crossing Villalba we broke up in small groups. Not many casualties. There was then a column of 650 men. Then we broke into small groups. Merriman, Doran, Ivan, Wolff, Lamb first section Machinegun Company. The whole Estado Mayor of the battalion and the brigade. That gang went on in the direction of Corbera. There we thought it was ours, but Corbera was in fascist hands already.

We came in through an olive orchard. They challenged us—we were fired on. Twenty-three of us then. We broke up. Merriman and Doran went to the left toward the highway. Wolfe [sic] called to me, and more of us went directly back; some went to the left. Group I was with went up on the mountain and stayed there till morning. In the morning I started down the highway and met a peasant breaking kegs of vino, good vino, because he didn’t want it to go to the fascists. He directed me to Asco. He said he had directed “muy grande[s] oficiales” that way earlier. All of them were wearing their insignia.

So I headed in the direction of Asco. That night I marched to La Fatarella. In the morning I hid from the fascist cavalry. Later I saw them attack Kaufman and some others. They obviously got them because the shots got less and less.

In the gang missing or killed were Doran, Merriman, Keith, Geiser (Orton was killed in the previous action two weeks ago at Caspe) Kauffman, Offsink, Blackie Maprellian, Bill Cody, Raymond Skistrom, Malin, Tapsell, Abe Sasson, Emery Redden, and Heininger of Pittsburgh.

There is this about it; whenever we fired, the infantry and cavalry of the fascists wouldn’t fight. They’d run. At Asco I talked to an old woman who told of many IBs executed in Asco. We went in small gangs till we got to the river. Between Asco and Flix we headed for the river, waiting there till dawn. The fascists were using bird whistles to call each other at night. The sun came up rapidly. We were caught. I swam with my rifle, pants and jacket. When I got on the other side I got rid of the heavy stuff. I came back down the river, some of our comrades needed help. I thought we could form a chain.

The fascists opened up with light air-cooled automatics, most of us running. Some got wounded. Plenty of guards up and down the river, alarmed. I ran down the railroad tracks when I got on the other side and ran into three fascist guards, who covered me and took me prisoner. Was brought to headquarters and held there five hours. Two officials of the thirty-fifth, Frenchmen, were also there. They captured some farmers in the town of Flix. The fascists were having a big celebration. That night, I and a Mac-Pap made our getaway. I socked a guard in the back of his neck while he wasn’t looking my way. He went flying. It got twilight while we were running. We came to a straight cliff. They couldn’t fire from that angle. I had no shoes – Cavalry came and searched. They went beyond me. I was there all night. When it was dawn I went on hands and knees to the river. I swam across safely. The other lad turned back when the fire opened. I went over. I haven’t seen him since.

In the Jarama Series, The Volunteer Blog will present a series of articles examining the experiences of volunteers in the Abraham Lincoln Battalion from its formation to the Brunete Offensive in July 1937. Articles will focus both on the battalion’s formation as well as on the individuals who served. These articles are intended to provide the reader with a better appreciation of the men and women who made up the first American combat formation in Spain. The series is compiled and curated by ALBA Board Member Chris Brooks.

Desertion occurs when a soldier decides to leave his appointed place of duty.  This act is especially serious when it occurs during times of war as it will likely place other soldiers in jeopardy.  Military justice for deserters is harsh. Punishments vary from extended periods of incarceration to execution.[i]  Six Americans chose to risk severe punishment and deserted during the early days at Jarama.  They were the first of a small but “steady stream” of American deserters.[ii]

The first recorded deserter, Albin C. Rutkauskas, arrived at the American Consulate in Valencia, Spain on February 23, 1937. Over the next four weeks, five additional volunteers followed.[iii]  Only Cleveland Moland Colbert, an African American, remained at the consulate on March 15, when Thomas C. Davis, the Consul at Valencia, sent a cable to the State Department in Washington summarizing the case of six deserters who sought refuge.[iv]  The other five deserters left their uniforms at the consulate and attempted to reach France in civilian clothes.  Following the State Department’s strict policy of nonintervention, the consulate provided only shelter and food for the men.[v]

Anthony Rutkauskas, a 20-year-old Chicago native of Lithuanian-American heritage, sailed for Europe aboard the Aquitania on January 28.  Upon arriving in Spain he trained and went to the front with the Lincoln Battalion.  Rutkauskas’ departure appears to have gone unnoticed. In the confusion of the front lines, the battalion reported him killed in action on February 27.[vi]  In his interview at the consulate he provided second-hand information on the recruiting process.[vii]  Republican authorities intercepted Rutkauskas and arrested him in Barcelona on March 24 and held him for several days. Upon his release, he traveled to France aboard a French steamer and arrived in Marseille on April 10.  A month later he arrived in New York aboard the President Roosevelt on May 10.[viii]

Henry Lyons, arrived at the consulate shortly after Rutkauskas. He was born in Republic, Pennsylvania in 1903 and was living in Chicago when he volunteered.  Lyon was an amateur writer, an actor and an organizer for the Communist Party.  He likely fabricated some elements of his story when he was interviewed at the consulate.  Lyons stated that his reason for going to Spain was to “see as much of the war and the revolution as possible.”  The consulate noted that they could not get “a clear statement” from him.  Lyons served in a “transportation outfit,” but “is positive that he did not have any intention of enlisting in the army.”  It is assumed that he stayed in a hotel because he called the consulate on March 10 to say he was leaving Valencia.  The American Consulate in Barcelona informed Valencia that Lyons arrived in Barcelona and he successfully returned to the United States aboard the Champlain on August 11, 1937.[ix]

Cleveland H. Moland Colbert arrived at the consulate under escort by Civil Guards from the town of Cuenca around March 2.  Colbert was a 30-year-old aviator and crane operator from Milwaukee.  He maintained in his consulate interview that he had not come to Spain to join the army. Instead Colbert stated that he was recruited to fly non-military missions for the Republican government.  He further stated that he was enrolled, against his will, in the infantry and deserted from the training camp while the training unit was on field maneuvers on February 17.  After walking for three days and nights, he arrived in Cuenca where he was arrested and taken to the Valencia consulate.  Colbert was the last of the deserters to leave the consulate.  Despite the fact that as an African American he stood out in a crowd, Colbert successfully left Spain and returned to the United States aboard the Champlain on July 2, 1937.[x]

Abraham Boris Eisenberg and Nathan Levin arrived at the consulate together on March 3.  Eisenberg was a 20-year-old volunteer from Brooklyn, New York who went to Spain to find employment as a journalist.  He sailed for France on November 18, 1936 aboard the Rotterdam.  While looking for work in Paris, he decided to volunteer for the International Brigades.  In Albacete he falsely stated that he was twenty-one and joined the American Battalion in training.  After receiving letters from home that the State Department forwarded, Eisenberg submitted a request for discharge.  He went to the front with the Battalion and was given a non-frontline job while his request for repatriation was processed.  After the attack on Pingarrón, Eisenberg approached Nathan Levin with the proposal that they desert. Eisenberg had obtained a blank pass to forge a Safe Conduct Pass and approached Levin who, as a driver for the Battalion, had access to a truck.[xi]

Nathan Levin was an unemployed 21-year-old salesman from Lynn, Massachusetts. He was serving in the Lincoln Battalion Transport was initially hesitant when Eisenberg approached him about deserting. When Eisenberg told him that he had the blank passes Levin agreed.  Together they took a truck and headed for the American Consulate in Valencia.  The truck broke down outside Valencia and they completed their trip by foot.[xii]

Donald Albert Boynton joined them a few days later.  Boynton, a 22-year-old truck driver was from Akron, Ohio arrived at the consulate wearing a military coat with a medical armband and carrying only $400 in traveler’s checks.  He claimed to have “volunteered to do hospital work” and was working at a hospital on the Chinchon Front before deserting.[xiii]

The three men were allowed to stay at the Consulate.  At night while no one was around they forged safe conduct papers.[xiv] Using the Safe Conduct passes and Boynton’s money, Eisenberg, Levin and Boynton left Valencia on March 11.[xv] They bought train tickets and got off the train at the last stop before Port Bou, France.  The three tore up the forged safe conduct papers and crossed the border on foot.  They surrendered themselves to French Customs agents who interrogated them for three hours. Upon their release the men took a train to Paris.[xvi]

In Paris, Eisenberg and Boynton purchased steamship tickets. They returned to the United States together aboard the President Harding on March 27.[xvii]  Levin remained in Paris likely because he lacked the funds to purchase passage home.  Before he departed, Eisenberg took Levin to the l’Americain de la Maison des Syndicats (House of Americans Union). The organization provided a room and a 20-Franc-a-day stipend.  It also arranged a job as a work-away to help Levin return to the United States.  While he was awaiting his planned May 5 departure, Levin had a change of heart and decided his conduct was “rotten.”  Levin made contact with the International Brigade apparatus in Paris and was allowed to return to Spain.[xviii]

By mid-April Levin was back in Spain where he was promptly arrested.  The Judicial commission of the XV BDE suggested a judgment of “expulsion from the Brigades and or the internment of Levin until the end of hostilities.”[xix]   Instead he was allowed to return to service. It was recorded on his biographical summary in October 1938 that he served with the 14^th Battery for 8 months before transferring to the Albacete Auto Park and finally the Auto Park of the XI BDE.  Levin was in action at Jarama, Extramadura, Toledo, the Retreats, and the Ebro Offensive.  In April 1937 he was wounded in action and spent three months in a Murcia Hospital.[xx]  In Ripoll it was noted that “very few comrades in the camp know much of his work during 1938.” [xxi] Levin returned to the United States aboard the Paris on December 15, 1938.[xxii]

There are significant gaps in the documentation for the six deserters.  Two, Colbert and Lyons, did not arrive in the United States until July and August respectively.  Because no documents exist it is not clear whether they were arrested or delayed finding a way to pay for their return.  Rutkauskas was arrested, released a short time later, and returned home.  Despite his arrest, Brigade records continued to list him as killed in action on February 27.[xxiii]  Indeed only three, Eisenberg, Boynton and Lyons, appear on an International Brigade list of deserters who reached the United States.[xxiv]  Research through Ancestry.com provided documentation that they all survived their experience in Spain and returned to the United States.

Sources

Carroll, Peter N. The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1994.

Eby, Cecil. Comrades and Commissars, The Lincoln Battalion in the Spanish Civil War, University of Pennsylvania: University Park, Pennsylvania: 2007.

Landis, Arthur. The Lincoln Brigade, New York: Citadel, 1968.

Merriman, Marion and Warren Letrude, American Commander in Spain, Robert Hale Merriman and the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, University of Nevada Press: Reno, Nevada, 1986.

Rolfe, Edwin. The Lincoln Battalion, New York: Stratford Press, 1939.

Tisa, John. Recalling the Good Fight, An Autobiography of the Spanish Civil War; Massachusetts: Bergin and Garvey Publishers, 1985.

Archives

Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI) ((Российский государственный архив социально-политической истории (РГАСПИ)); Records of the International Brigades (Comintern Archives, Fond 545)

[i] United States Code § 885. Article 85. Desertion defines the act of desertion as occurring when “any member of the armed forces who without authority goes or remains absent from his unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to remain away there from permanently; or who quits his unit, organization, or place of duty with intent to avoid hazardous duty or to shirk important service.” . . .  Punishment for “Any person found guilty of desertion or attempt to desert shall be punished, if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct, but if the desertion or attempt to desert occurs at any other time, by such punishment, other than death, as a court-martial may direct.” https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/885

[ii] Peter N. Carroll. The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1994), 147; Carroll states that approximately 100 Americans or about 4% of volunteers deserted.

[iii] Cecil Eby, Comrades and Commissars, The Lincoln Battalion in the Spanish Civil War, (University Park, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania, 2007), 55; Carroll, The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade,  122.

[iv] American Consulate, Valencia, Spain to Secretary of State, Washington, DC, Cable, March 15, 1937, United States State Department Archives (USSDA) 852.00/5118.

[v] Carroll, The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, 147.

[vi] Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI), Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 978, ll. 35 (under Rutkaus).

[vii] USSDA 852.00/5118.

[viii] USSDA 852.2221, 59:0557 Rutkauskas (Brooks file notes); Passenger List Collection, President Roosevelt, May 10, 1937, Ancestry.com.

[ix] USSDA 852.00/5118; Passenger List Collection, Champlain, August 11, 1937, Ancestry.com.

[x] USSDA 852.00/5118; Passenger List Collection, Champlain, July 2, 1937, Ancestry.com..

[xi] Declaration de Nathan Levin, April 29, 1937, RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 933, ll. 37 (in French translated by Ray Hoff); USSDA 852.00/5118; George Broadsky, Service de Cadres to [Mildred] Rackley, April 14, 1937, RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 885, ll. 72, states:

Sorry to inform you that the Eisenberg case is no longer in our hands. His case       has been referred to the Control Commission, due to his having deserted his post at the        front.

Upon requests which came from America for his repatriation we attempted to        arrange such repatriation. But Comrade Eisenberg was foolish enough to take things into           his own hands and attempted to leave on his own.

[xii] Declaration de Nathan Levin, April 29, 1937, RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 933, ll. 37 (in French); USSDA 852.00/5118; It is possible the Boynton had actually been on the Jarama Front despite his denial.  A statement he signed in Albacete dated February 26, 1937 RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 866, ll. 203 states:

To whom it may concern:

Having volunteered my services to asist [sic] in maintaining the freedom of the Spanish     people. I hereby state that I am willing to serve in any capacity in which I, personally,          can be of most service to them.

[xiii] USSDA 852.00/5118.

[xiv] Declaration de Nathan Levin, April 29, 1937, RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 933, ll. 37 (in French).

[xv] USSDA 852.00/5118.

[xvi] Declaration de Nathan Levin, April 29, 1937, RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 933, ll. 37 (in French).

[xvii] Passenger List Collection, President Harding, March 27, 1937, Ancestry.com.

[xviii] Declaration de Nathan Levin, April 29, 1937, RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 933, ll. 37 (in French).

[xix] Rapport No. 1268 Cause: Levin, Nathan, June 4, 1937, RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 933, ll. 35.

[xx] 1132 Levin, Nathan Milton, January 16, 1938, RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 933, ll. 36;  Comisariado de Guerra Biographical de las Brigadas Internacionales, Levin, Nathan, October 31, 1938, RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 933, ll. 31-33.

[xxi] The Communist Party of Spain, Central Committee, Levin, Nathan, 1938,RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 933, ll. 34.

[xxii] Passenger List Collection, Paris, December 15, 1937, Ancestry.com.

[xxiii] Missing Probably Dead (Complete to September 10, 1937), RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 51, ll. 11.

[xxiv] Deported and Deserted that have reached US, 12/31/37, [Comprehensive Survey of all American volunteers conducted in December 1937]; RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 40 ll. 43.

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