[1] As a young adult, he pursued a military career and served as a general officer in the United States Army during the War of 1812.

[2][note 1] In the years following his death, his legacy was largely forgotten, with a 1901 article in The American Architect and Building News stating that the only monument in his honor was the one over his grave in the Congressional Cemetery.

[2] In the early 1900s, erecting a monumental statue in honor of Macomb became a primary goal of the Michigan chapter of the National Society of United States Daughters of 1812, a civic group consisting of descendants of veterans from the War of 1812.

In March 1901, several sources reported that the Michigan chapter had approved of a design for a statue honoring Macomb from sculptor Louis Amateis.

[2][6] Leslie's Weekly reported that Amateis had won a competition for the design,[7] which would have depicted Macomb standing on a rampart, delivering directions to other soldiers.

[3][8] By 1906, the magazine The Search-Light reported that the Michigan chapter was still moving forward with plans to erect a monument to Macomb, utilizing the condemned cannons acquired from the U.S.

[9] Additionally, the city provided a location for the monument:[4] the southern end of a park along Washington Boulevard, facing Michigan Avenue.

[1] Weinman, who was 36 years old at the time, had worked under several other notable sculptors of the era, including Daniel Chester French, Philip Martiny, Charles Henry Niehaus, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and Olin Levi Warner.

[14] The statue was accepted on behalf of the city by Detroit Mayor William Barlum Thompson and was unveiled by a niece of Macomb's.

[15] Since the 2010s, there have been some calls to remove the statue due to Macomb's connections to slavery in the United States and the genocide of Native Americans.

[18][20] On June 14, 2020, during a march as part of the George Floyd protests in Michigan, a protestor placed a bag over Macomb's head and wrapped rope around the statue's neck.

[20] In an interview with The Detroit News several days later on June 16, Wayne State University professor David Goldberg opined that the statue could be replaced with one of an abolitionist, such as William Lambert.

[20] On September 5, 2020, the monument was vandalized again, with the words "Slave Owner Land Thief" spray-painted in red paint on the pedestal.