Alonzo Watson
American anti-fascist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alonzo Watson (February 4, 1892 – February 25, 1937) was an American volunteer who was killed in action fighting for the Loyalists during the Spanish Civil War.[1] He was the first African-American man to die in the war.[2]
United States
Spanish RepublicAlonzo Watson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | February 4, 1892 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | February 25, 1937 (aged 45) |
| Allegiance | United States Spanish Republic |
| Branch |  United States Army International Brigades |
| Service years | c. 1917–1918 1937 |
| Rank | Quartermaster |
| Unit | 365th Illinois Infantry The "Abraham Lincoln" XV International Brigade |
| Conflicts | |
Biographical sketch
Alonzo Watson was born in Chicago, Illinois in February 4, 1892. A veteran of World War I and painter, Watson moved to New York City and joined the Communist Party upon finding common cause with its Harlem activism in the 1930s.[3]
He left New York City for Spain on the day after Christmas in 1936; his was one of the first groups of volunteers to see service in the American outfit known as the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.[4] Staffed mostly by Americans who supported the Second Spanish Republic against the coup led by General Francisco Franco, the Lincoln Brigades composed the first completely integrated American fighting force.[5]
Watson died on February 25, 1937, at the Battle of Jarama. Fellow veteran John Tisa recalls that Watson died in hand-to-hand combat.[6]
His name occurs briefly as a historical character in Captain Blackman (1972), a novel written by African-American writer John Alfred Williams and Bruce Palmer's They Shall Not Pass: A Novel of the Spanish Civil War (1971).
