Lincoln Battalion

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The Lincoln Battalion (Spanish: Batallón Abraham Lincoln), the major component of what came to be known as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade, was the 17th (later the 58th) battalion of the XV International Brigade that fought in the Spanish Civil War. Named after United States President Abraham Lincoln, the battalion was organized by the Communist International. The XVth Brigade was one of many mixed brigades that comprised the International Brigades. The Lincoln Battalion was formed by American volunteers who served as soldiers, technicians, medical personnel, and aviators alongside the Spanish Republican forces against the Nazi-supported forces of General Francisco Franco and his Nationalist faction. Unlike the segregated U.S. Army in the 1930s, the Lincoln Battalion integrated white and black soldiers on an equal basis. Of the approximately 3,000 American volunteers who went to Spain, 681 were killed in action or died of wounds or sickness.

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