Alexander Macomb | |
|---|---|
 General Macomb's official portrait, 1829 | |
| Commanding General of the U.S. Army | |
| In office May 29, 1828 – June 25, 1841 | |
| President | John Quincy Adams Andrew Jackson Martin Van Buren William Henry Harrison John Tyler |
| Preceded by | Jacob Brown |
| Succeeded by | Winfield Scott |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1782-04-03)April 3, 1782 Detroit, Province of Quebec, British America |
| Died | June 25, 1841(1841-06-25) (aged 59) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Congressional Cemetery |
| Relations | William H. Macomb (son) Montgomery M. Macomb (grandnephew)[1] |
| Awards | Congressional Gold Medal |
| Signature | .png) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1799–1800, 1801–1841 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Commands | 3rd Artillery Regiment Right Division of the Northern Army Army Corps of Engineers Commanding General of the United States Army |
| Battles/wars | |
Alexander Macomb (/məˈkum/;[2] April 3, 1782 – June 25, 1841) was an American military officer who was theCommanding General of the United States Army from 1828 until his death in 1841. Macomb was the field commander at theBattle of Plattsburgh during theWar of 1812 and, after the stunning victory, was lauded with praise and styled "The Hero of Plattsburgh" by some of the American press. He was promoted toMajor General for his conduct, receiving both theThanks of Congress and aCongressional Gold Medal.
Born inDetroit, then part of colonial-eraBritish America, in 1782, Macomb was the son ofAlexander Macomb, a merchant and fur trader from upstate New York, and Mary Catherine Navarre, who was of ethnic French descent.[3]
He moved with his parents toNew York City, where his father gained wealth as a land speculator, particularly in the millions of acres of New York land released by the federal government for sale after the Iroquois nations had been largely forced from the state into exile inOntario following British defeat in theAmerican Revolutionary War. The son received aclassical education atNewark Academy inNew Jersey.[4]
In 1798, at the age of 16, Macomb joined a New York militia company. In January 1799, with the recommendation ofAlexander Hamilton, he was commissioned aCornet in the Regular Army during theFrench emergency.[4] In March, he was promoted to second lieutenant, and he was honorably discharged in June 1800.
In February 1801, he was commissioned as asecond lieutenant, 2nd Infantry, serving as secretary to a commission that treated with the Indians of the Southeast.
He was commissioned afirst lieutenant in theArmy Corps of Engineers, which was established in 1802 atWest Point to constitute a military academy. He was one of the first officers to receive formal training there.[4]
For five years, Macomb directed construction of coastal fortifications in the Carolinas and Georgia. He also established fortifications atFort Gratiot, Michigan, Chicago, Mackinaw, Prairie du Chien, St. Peter's, and St. Mary's in what was considered the Northwest area - Michigan and Illinois.[5]
At the beginning of the War of 1812, in July 1812, Macomb was promoted at the age of 30 tocolonel of the newly organised3rd Artillery Regiment.
He was in command of theSacketts Harbor garrison. UnderWinfield Scott, he took part in theCapture of Fort George. He was part ofJames Wilkinson's failedSt. Lawrence expedition and commanded his brigade at theBattle of Point Iroquois.
He won acclaim during theWar of 1812 asbrigadier general in command of the Right Division of the Northern Army, responsible for defending the frontier of northernNew York. At theBattle of Plattsburgh on September 11, 1814, with only 1,500 regular troops and some detachments of militia, he was opposed by a British force of 10,531 men under Lieutenant General SirGeorge Prevost. Macomb's heavily outnumbered troops fell back before the British columns in a series of encounters as Prevost advanced towards the American defensive works. In the weeks leading up to the battle, Macomb, knowing full well he would be greatly outnumbered, worked with his men to move trees and create fake roads; in order to obscure the genuine roads and lead the British into dead-end traps far from the three nearby American forts (a maneuver Macomb calledabattis).[6] The British attack was diffused by these efforts. The long, narrow lines of marching soldiers were unable to easily stop and about-face. They became entangled in the maze of false, narrow roads, where they became targets for an American ambush.
The British were about to launch an assault on the American defenses when the news came through of the defeat of theRoyal Navy squadron onLake Champlain. Prevost needed the British Lake Champlain squadron to supply his planned advance into Vermont. Without it, he had no choice but to abandon the expedition. Prevost and his forces returned to Canada. Macomb was showered with praise and styled "the Hero of Plattsburgh" by some in the Americanpress. He was promoted tomajor general for his conduct at this battle, and received the formal thanks ofCongress and aCongressional Gold Medal.
When Major GeneralJacob Brown, theArmy's commanding general, died in February 1828, Macomb was the senior brigadier general on the Army register, although, as the Army'schief of engineers, he was paid only at the rank of a colonel. PresidentJohn Quincy Adams promoted him to commanding general of the Army with the rank of major general.[7] The Army's two serving brigadier generals —Winfield Scott andEdmund P. Gaines — had been vying for the position.[4] Their quarrels over seniority had scandalized the Army, and Adams bypassed them to offer the post to Macomb.
The general's last active service in atheater of war was in theSeminole War in Florida, in 1835.[8]
Macomb's tenure as Commanding General was marked by "continuing uncertainty about the responsibilities and authority of his position. To secure his seniority over Scott and Gaines, both two-star brevet major generals, Macomb added a provision in the 1834 regulations that 'the insignia of the major general commanding in chief should be three stars.' In the same document he sought to define his relationship to the Secretary of War and establish his primacy over the bureau chiefs, including his successor asChief of Engineers. This was easier said than done. Most issues were not fully resolved until early the next century."[9]
He advocated doubling Army strength, increasing enlisted pay, providing relief for some widows and orphans, and regularizing the officer retirement and replacement system. In 1840 theArmy Corps of Engineers adopted the castle uniform insignia and first described the Corps of Engineers' distinctiveEssayons button (Motto in French, meaning: "Let us try").[4][9]
Macomb was succeeded by Major GeneralWinfield Scott, who had worked "hard at mending fences in the intervening 13 years ..." within the Army.[9]
In 1809, Macomb was the author of a seminal book (republished in 2006) on martial law and the conduct ofcourts-martial. It was the first book written on American procedures. During this period, he was serving as ajudge-advocate general (JAG) in the Army. He published a revised, updated book solely on courts-martial in 1809.[10]
He also wrote a play, c. 1826, on the siege of Detroit byOttawa chiefPontiac. It features Macomb's maternal grandfather, Robert Navarre, who helped defend the settlement. The play was published and later performed in Washington, D.C. during Macomb's residency.See Published Works and Further Reading,infra.
In addition, Macomb is recognized as an artist. His paintingDetroit as Seen from the Canadian Shore in 1821, a watercolor and pencil work, is held by theDetroit Institute of Arts.[11]
Macomb was the first of five Commanding Generals (Chiefs of Staff after the 1903 reorganization) who had held Engineer commissions early in their careers. All had transferred to other branches before being appointed to this top position. The others wereGeorge B. McClellan,Henry W. Halleck,Douglas MacArthur, andMaxwell D. Taylor.
Following the Battle of Plattsburgh and the end of the War of 1812, aCongressional Gold Medal honoring Alexander Macomb and his men was struck by Act of Congress (3 Stat. 247), to wit:[12]
Obverse: MAJOR GENERAL ALEXANDER MACOMB. Bust of Gen. Macomb, in uniform, facing the right FÜRST. F(ecit). indicates the engraverMoritz Fuerst, who designed several medals of 1812 heroes for the Philadelphia mint. The bust of Macomb found on the Congressional Medal, however, is reminiscent of the 1809 portrait of Macomb by Saint-Mémin , in which Macomb is wearing the undressed coat of blue with black velvet collar and cuffs typical of an Engineering officer.
Reverse: RESOLUTION OF CONGRESS NOVEMBER 3. 1814. The American army repulsing the British troops, who are striving to cross the Saranac river. To the left, Plattsburgh in flames; to the right, naval battle on Lake Champlain; in the distance, Cumberland Head. Exergue: BATTLE OF PLATTSBURGH September 11. 1814. FÜRST. F(ecit).[15]
This was one of 27 Gold Medals authorized by Congress arising from the War of 1812.[16]
Alexander Macomb is recognized by a Michigan Historical Marker installed at the corner ofGratiot Avenue and Macomb Street inMount Clemens, Michigan, the county seat of Macomb County, named for him. It is Registered Site S0418, erected in 1974.[17] It states:
Alexander Macomb
In 1818 Territorial GovernorLewis Cass proclaimed the third Michigan county to be called Macomb. At that time the young General was Commander of the Fifth Military Department in Detroit. Born in that city in 1782, son of prominent local entrepreneurs, Macomb had entered the U.S. Army in 1799. He had gained national renown and honor during the War of 1812 for his victory at Plattsburgh in September 1814 over a far superior force of British invaders. Later as Chief Army Engineer he promoted the building of military roads in the Great Lakes area. From May 1828 to his death in June 1841, Macomb served as Commander in Chief of the Army. He is buried in theCongressional Cemetery in Washington D.C. His birthday, April 3, is honored as Macomb County Heritage Day.
He is memorialized by several monuments. Onestatue of Alexander Macomb was sculpted byAdolph Alexander Weinman and erected in 1906 in downtown Detroit, Michigan.[18] This statue was made from melted down cannons, and was a notable and monumental task.[19] Another is in downtownMount Clemens, Michigan, in front of the Circuit Court building at 40 NorthGratiot Avenue. Several others exist.[20]
Macomb died while in office atWashington, D.C. He was originally buried at thePresbyterian Burying Ground, but in 1850 his remains were disinterred and he was reburied atCongressional Cemetery.[21][22]
His remains, and those of his wife, Catherine, were disinterred again in June 2008 so that the brick-lined burial vault beneath their 6-ton (5,400 kg), 13-foot-tall (4.0 m) marble monument could be repaired to prevent its impending collapse. During the month it took to make the necessary repairs, the couple's remains were held at theSmithsonian; they were viewed by several of the general's descendants, including his great-great-great-granddaughter. After the $24,000 repairs were completed by theDepartment of Veterans Affairs, their remains were re-interred on July 17, 2008.[23] The monument to Alexander Macomb is "one of the most unusual in the nation."[24]
During the 1820s, Macomb was a member of theColumbian Institute for the Promotion of Arts and Sciences, who counted among their members former presidentsAndrew Jackson andJohn Quincy Adams and many prominent men of the day, including well-known representatives of the military, government service, medical and other professions.[25]
His youngest son wasCommodoreWilliam H. Macomb.
In World War II, the United StatesLiberty shipSSAlexander Macomb was named in his honor.See,List of Liberty ships: M-R.[26]
In addition to the ship, Alexander Macomb has been the source for the name of a number of locations, communities, and institutions around the country, including:
Macomb's effective dates of rank were:[34]
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This article incorporatespublic domain material fromAlexander Macomb.United States Army Center of Military History.
| Military offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Adjutant Generals of the U. S. Army April 28, 1812 – July 6, 1812 (acting) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chief of Engineers 1821–1828 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commanding General of the U.S. Army 1828–1841 | Succeeded by |
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