Robert Hale Merriman

American commander

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June 30, 2026

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Robert Hale Merriman was an American commander in the Abraham Lincoln Battalion, a unit of U.S. volunteers who fought for the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War from 1937 to 1938. A graduate of the University of Nevada, Merriman rose to the rank of major and served as chief of staff for the 14th International Brigade. He fought in several battles before being killed in action in 1938. The Abraham Lincoln Battalion, largely composed of communists, suffered heavy casualties, with about 900 of the approximately 2,800 American volunteers killed.

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Abraham Lincoln Battalion
…perhaps most noted commander was Robert Hale Merriman (1912?–38)—the son of a lumberjack, a graduate of the University of Nevada, and a former graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley—who rose to the rank of major and became chief of staff of the 14th International Brigade (which included…
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…perhaps most noted commander was Robert Hale Merriman (1912?–38)—the son of a lumberjack, a graduate of the University of Nevada, and a former graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley—who rose to the rank of major and became chief of staff of the 14th International Brigade (which included…
Read More