Alexander Macomb, Junior (3 April 1782 – 25 June 1841) was the commanding general of the United States Army from 29 May 1828 to 25 June 1841.

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Macomb was the son of Alexander Macomb, Sr..

Macomb was commissioned in the Army Corps of Engineers in 1802 and spent 5 years in charge of coastal fortifications in the Carolinas and Georgia.

He won acclaim during the War of 1812 as brigadier-general in command of the frontier of northern New York. At the Battle of Plattsburg on September 11, 1814 with only 1,500 regular troops and some detachments of militia, he repulsed an invasion attempt by a greatly superior British force under Sir George Prevost. General Macomb was promoted major-general for his conduct at this battle, receiving both the thanks of Congress and a gold medal.

When Major General Jacob Brown, the Army’s commanding general, died in February 1828, President John Quincy Adams could have chosen as Brown's successor one of the Army's two brigadier generals. But the two — Winfield Scott and Edmund P. Gaines — had denounced each other publicly and for months had been contesting for the position. Their quarrels scandalized the Army and drove Adams to nominate Alexander Macomb, the Chief of Engineers, who by then had reverted rank to colonel, as the Army’s top general.

Macomb’s tenure as Commanding General was marked by continuing uncertainty about the responsibilities and authority of his position. To secure his seniority over the other 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 as Chief of Engineers. Most issues were not fully resolved until early the next century.

His son was Commodore William H. Macomb.

He died while in office in Washington, D.C. and is buried in the Congressional Cemetery.

Congressional Gold Medal citation

Resolved, That the thanks of Congress be, and they are hereby presented to Major General Macomb, and, through him, to the officers and men of the regular army under his command, and to the militia and volunteers of New York and Vermont, for their gallantry and good conduct, in defeating the enemy at Plattsburg on the eleventh of September; repelling, with one thousand five hundred men, aided by a body of militia and volunteers from New York and Vermont, a British veteran army, greatly superior in number, and that the President of the United States be requested to cause a gold medal to be struck, emblematical of this triumph, and presented to Major General Macomb.

Macomb County in Michigan is named after him.

References

1782 births | 1841 deaths | United States Army generals