Macomb, Alexander

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Macomb, Alexander

(məkōm`), 1782–1841, American army officer, b. Detroit, Mich. He entered the army in 1799. In the War of 1812, as brigadier general in command at Plattsburgh, N.Y., in the absence of Gen. Ralph Izard, he repulsed (Sept. 11, 1814) the assault of a greatly superior force under Sir George Prevost; this action, accompanied by the complete defeat of a squadron on Lake Champlain by Thomas Macdonough, caused the British to retreat to Canada. From 1828 until his death he was commanding general of the U.S. army.

Macomb, Alexander

(1782–1841) soldier; born in Detroit, Mich. Son of a prosperous trader, he received a regular army commission in 1799; he then became one of the first to train at West Point and was promoted captain after graduation. He served with the Corps of Engineers (1805–12), working on coast fortifications in the Carolinas and Georgia. In 1814 he defeated a larger British force at Plattsburg, N.Y. By 1821 he was head of the Corps of Engineers and he became commanding general of the entire U.S. Army from 1828–41.
References in periodicals archive ?
Near the start of the Revolutionary War, William and Alexander Macomb, Scots-Irish traders from New York, illegally purchased Grosse Isle from the Potawatomi people.
The South Doesn't Own Slavery
One of the most interesting literary curiosities from Michigan's territorial era is a play written by War of 1812 hero and native son Alexander Macomb.
The playwright and Pontiac
To face the British juggernaut of nearly 11,000, supported by a fleet of one frigate, a brig, two sloops and 12 gunboats, the Americans had Brigadier General Alexander Macomb heading up their land forces with 1,500 regular troops and 1,900 militia, while recently promoted Master Commandant Thomas Macdonough led his naval squadron consisting of one corvette, a brig, a schooner, a sloop and 10 gunboats.
The battle of Plattsburgh: America reverses Brish fortunes 1814
Coincidentally, the Commanding General of the Army at that time was Alexander Macomb, a former engineer officer.
The Essayons Button
15) Commanding General Alexander Macomb firmly warned recruiters not to accept intoxicated men for the army and not to give the oath of service until twenty-four hours after the recruit signed the enlistment papers.
The progressive agent of mischief: the whiskey ration and temperance in the United States Army
The Final Invasion is an intriguing tale of fog, friction, chance, and chaos-of courage, gallantry, leadership, and team-work--reminding readers that, as Army commander Alexander Macomb declared to his troops, "The eyes of America are on us; fortune always follows the brave.
The Final Invasion: Plattsburgh, the War of 1812's Most Decisive Battle. (Book Reviews)
Colonel Alexander Macomb (the commanding general from 1828 to 1841), who already had a son, wrote to Major John De Barth Walbach in 1825 criticizing severity as a method of child-rearing, specifically referring to Sylvanus Thayer's strict regulations as Superintendant at West Point.
Flexible gender roles during the market revolution: family, friendship, marriage, and masculinity among U.S. Army officers, 1815-1846
Among the more successful were the anonymous Indian Wife (1830), Pontiac, or the Siege of Detroit by General Alexander Macomb, and Metamora, or The Last of the Wampanoags by John A.
1830: Publishing; arts and music; popular entertainment; architecture; theatre
Alexander Macomb, commanding general of the army (1828-1836) and promoted to captain (June 1836); was assigned to staff duty in Washington (1836-1841), becoming assistant adjustant general with a promotion to major (1838); he served as chief of staff to Col.
Cooper, Samuel (1798-1876)
Established in 1776, just days after the Declaration of Independence was signed, the farm of William and Alexander Macomb once occupied all of Grosse Ile.
For more than 200 years ... one family's farm
Army commanding generals Alexander Macomb and Winfield Scott; resigned (1846) but rejoined for service in the Mexican War; raised and equipped his own cavalry company and was promoted captain (December 1846) under Winfield Scott; brevetted major for Churubusco (August 20, 1847) where he lost an arm leading his company in a charge; retired (October 1851); served in the Italian War (1859) with Napoleon III's Imperial Guard; won distinction at Magenta (June 4) and Solferino (June 24) and was the first American to receive the cross of the Legion of Honor; returned to the U.
Kearny, Philip (1814-1862)
Alexander Macomb and tendered his resignation, which was refused; named commander of Eastern Division (1829); led force to Wisconsin to take part in Black Hawk War (July 1832) but was delayed by a cholera epidemic and arrived after hostilities had ceased; helped negotiate the Treaty of Fort Armstrong (near Davenport, Iowa) with the Sauk and Fox tribes (September 21, 1832); sent by President Jackson to South Carolina to observe the Nullifiers' activities (late 1832); he carried out his duties skillfully and reinforced the Federal garrisons around Charleston without arousing local ire; sent to Florida to fight the Seminoles, but on his arrival at St.
Scott, Winfield (1786-1866)
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