Macomb, Alexander

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.