Alexander Macomb (/məˈkum/;[2] April 3, 1782 – June 25, 1841) was an American military officer who was the Commanding General of the United States Army from 1828 until his death in 1841.

[3] He moved with his parents to New 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 in Ontario following British defeat in the American Revolutionary War.

He was commissioned a first lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers, which was established in 1802 at West Point to constitute a military academy.

[5] At the beginning of the War of 1812, in July 1812 Macomb was promoted at the age of 30 to colonel of the newly organised 3rd Artillery Regiment.

He was part of James Wilkinson's failed St. Lawrence expedition and commanded his brigade at the Battle of Point Iroquois.

At the Battle 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 Sir George 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 called abattis).

He was promoted to major general for his conduct at this battle, and received the formal thanks of Congress and a Congressional Gold Medal.

"[9] He advocated doubling Army strength, increasing enlisted pay, providing relief for some widows and orphans, and regularizing the officer retirement and replacement system.

[4][9] Macomb was succeeded by Major General Winfield Scott, who had worked "hard at mending fences in the intervening 13 years ..." within the Army.

[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.

Following the Battle of Plattsburgh and the end of the War of 1812, a Congressional Gold Medal honoring Alexander Macomb and his men was struck by Act of Congress (3 Stat.

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.

He is buried in the Congressional Cemetery in Washington D.C. His birthday, April 3, is honored as Macomb County Heritage Day.He is memorialized by several monuments.

[19] Another is in downtown Mount Clemens, Michigan, in front of the Circuit Court building at 40 North Gratiot Avenue.

[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 the Smithsonian; they were viewed by several of the general's descendants, including his great-great-great-granddaughter.

In World War II, the United States liberty ship SS Alexander Macomb was named in his honor.