General Alexander Macomb, (sculpture).

General Alexander Macomb, (sculpture).

Weinman, Adolph A., 1870-1952, sculptor.

Ross, Albert Randolf, architect.

Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company, founder.

Maine & New Hampshire Granite Company, contractor.

General Alexander Macomb, (sculpture).

General Macomb, (sculpture).

Macomb, (sculpture).

Commissioned 1906. Dedicated Sept. 11, 1908.

Digital Reference:

Sculpture: bronze; Upper base: pink New Hampshire granite; Lower base: concrete aggregate.

Sculpture: approx. 9 ft. x 44 in. x 42 in.; Upper base: approx. 7 ft. x 6 ft. 5 in. x 6 ft. 5 in.; Lower base: approx. Diam. 30 ft.

(Incised:) A.A.WEINMAN.FECIT (Incised:) CAST BY/THE HENRY-BONNARD BRONZE CO./MT.VERNON N. Y. 1908. (On front of upper base, incised:) MACOMB (On back of upper base, incised:) TO MAJOR GENERAL/ALEXANDER MACOMB/COMMANDING THE/ARMY OF THE UNITED/STATES HERO OF THE/BATTLE OF PLATTSBURG/THIS MONUMENT IS/ERECTED IN THE CITY/OF HIS BIRTH BY THE/MICHIGAN SOCIETY/OF THE UNITED STATES/DAUGHTERS OF 1812/SEPTEMBER 11 1908 signed Founder's mark appears.

Bronze portrait of General Alexander Macomb, hero of the War of 1812, standing with hands clasped in front of him. He wears a military uniform with a long cape, and a small hat that is pulled down over his brow. He stands on a square granite base that features a relief depicting two entwined wreaths of oak and laurel. The granite base sits atop a lower base that is a much broader three-stepped circular base, flanked by three cannons on low pedestals behind and to either side.

Portrait male -- Macomb, Alexander -- Full length

Occupation -- Military -- General

Dress -- Uniform -- Military Uniform

Dress -- Accessory -- Hat

Object -- Other -- Wreath

Object -- Weapon -- Cannon

History -- United States -- War of 1812

Outdoor Sculpture -- Michigan -- Detroit

City of Detroit, Parks and Recreation Department, Landscape Division, 2008 Water Board Building, 735 Randolph Street, Detroit, Michigan 48226

Formerly located Traffic island at Washington Boulevard & Michigan Avenue, Detroit, Michigan

General Alexander Macomb (1782-1842) was a native of Detroit and a hero of the War of 1812's Battle of Plattsburg on Lake Champlain. To show gratitude and appreciation for what General Macomb had done for the City of Detroit, the Michigan Society of the United Daughters of 1812 erected this monument. Weinman won the commission in 1906. The State of Michigan provided $5,000 funding and the City of Detroit provided $2,000, and the United Daughters of 1812 donated the remaining $5,000. The United States donated the cannons to be used for the metal. IAS files contain articles from International Studio 39 (Dec. 1909), which details the composition of the monument; and Michigan History 3 (July 1919), which discusses fund raising and dedication.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, Michigan survey, 1993.

National Park Service, American Monuments and Outdoor Sculpture Database, MI0021, 1989.

Index of American Sculpture, University of Delaware, 1985.

Nawrocki, Dennis Alan, "Art in Detroit Public Places," Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1980.

Michigan History 3 (July 1919): pg. 364.

International Studio 39 (Dec. 1909): pg. XLIV-XLV.

Monumental News (Nov. 1908): pg. 790.

SOS Conservation Treatment Award, 2001.

Detroit Historical Museum, City of Detroit Monuments, 2004.

Monumental News (Nov. 1908): pg. 790 and cover.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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