Statue of Alexander Macomb

{{Infobox monument|name=General Alexander Macomb|location=Washington Boulevard, Detroit, Michigan, United States|image=Alexander Macomb statue Detroit.jpg|caption=The statue in 2018|dedicated=September 11, 1908|dedicated_to=Alexander Macomb|material=Bronze
Granite|designer=Adolph Alexander Weinman (sculptor)|type=Statue|builder=Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company (statue)
Maine & New Hampshire Granite Co. (pedestal)|begin=1906|complete=1908|coordinates={{coord|42|19|55|N|83|3|3.5|W|display=title, inline}}|map_image=WayneCountyMI#Michigan#United States|height={{convert|16|ft|m}}|width={{convert|6|ft|5|in|m}}|length={{convert|6|ft|5|in|m}}}}

General Alexander Macomb is a monumental statue in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It was designed by sculptor Adolph Alexander Weinman and was dedicated in 1908 in honor of Alexander Macomb, a Detroit native who had served as the Commanding General of the United States Army for several years in the early 1800s. The monument, which consists of the bronze statue of Macomb standing atop a granite pedestal on a circular concrete platform, was dedicated on September 11, on the anniversary of the Battle of Plattsburgh, a War of 1812 battle that Macomb had participated in. Since the 2010s, the statue has come under criticism due to Macomb's connections to slavery and the mistreatment of Native Americans, with several news sources publishing opinion pieces calling for the statue's removal. During the George Floyd protests in 2020, the monument was vandalized several times.

History

= Background =

Alexander Macomb was a Detroit native who was born into a wealthy family in 1782.{{sfn|Nawrocki|2008|p=50}} 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.{{sfn|The American Architect and Building News|1901|p=72}} For his participation in the Battle of Plattsburgh in 1814, he was awarded a Congressional Gold Medal and promoted to the rank of major general.{{sfn|The American Architect and Building News|1901|p=72}} Between 1828 and 1841, he served as the Commanding General of the United States Army,{{sfn|United States Congressional Serial Set|1902|p=2}} a position he would hold until his death in Washington, D.C. that same year.{{sfn|The American Architect and Building News|1901|p=72}}{{refn|group=note|One source states that he was promoted to "General-in-chief" in 1835,{{sfn|The American Architect and Building News|1901|p=72}} while other sources gives his position as "Commander-in-Chief".{{sfn|Noble|1919|p=364}}{{sfn|Collins|2006|p=38}}}} 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.{{sfn|The American Architect and Building News|1901|p=72}}

= Creation and dedication =

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.{{sfn|The American Architect and Building News|1901|p=72}}{{sfn|Stone|1901|p=272}} Leslie's Weekly reported that Amateis had won a competition for the design,{{sfn|Leslie's Weekly|1901|p=459}} which would have depicted Macomb standing on a rampart, delivering directions to other soldiers.{{sfn|Stone|1901|p=272}} Additional bas reliefs would have depicted scenes from the Battle of Plattsburgh.{{sfn|Stone|1901|p=272}} The total cost for the project would have been approximately $15,000.{{sfn|Stone|1901|p=272}} Despite the announcement, Amateis's design for the monument would not come to fruition. However, the chapter continued their efforts and in 1902, thanks to assistance from Michigan's U.S. Senators Julius C. Burrows and James McMillan,{{sfn|Noble|1919|p=364}} {{convert|7,000|lb|kg}} of condemned cannons were appropriated from the United States Senate Committee on Military Affairs to provide the material for the statue's construction.{{sfn|United States Congressional Serial Set|1902|p=2}}{{sfn|The Monumental News|1902|p=298}}

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. Congress.{{sfn|The Search-Light|1906|p=170}} The cost for the monument was projected to be at most $10,000, and the government of Michigan and government of Detroit had appropriated $5,000 and $2,000, respectively, for the project.{{sfn|The Search-Light|1906|p=170}} Additionally, the city provided a location for the monument:{{sfn|Noble|1919|p=364}} the southern end of a park along Washington Boulevard, facing Michigan Avenue.{{sfn|Keep|Burton|1916|p=107}}{{sfn|Munger|1921|p=37}} That same year, sculptor Adolph Alexander Weinman won a competition to design the statue.{{sfn|Nawrocki|2008|p=50}} 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.{{sfn|Attwood|2011|p=175}} The casting of the statue was performed by the Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company of New York City.{{sfn|The Monumental News|1908|p=790}} Meanwhile, the stonework for the rest of the monument was performed by the Maine & New Hampshire Granite Co. of Portland, Maine.{{sfn|The Monumental News|1908|p=790}} In total, the monument cost $12,000,{{sfn|Noble|1919|p=365}} with the Michigan chapter providing the remaining $5,000 for the project.{{sfn|Smithsonian Institution Research Information System}}

The statue was dedicated on September 11, 1908,{{sfn|Dyar|1909|p=XLIV}} on the anniversary of the Battle of Plattsburgh.{{sfn|The American Architect and Building News|1901|p=72}} The main speech at the ceremony was given by U.S. Representative Edwin Denby, while Beatrice Larned Whitney, the president of the Michigan chapter of the Daughters of 1812, also gave a speech.{{sfn|Noble|1919|p=365}} The statue was accepted on behalf of the city by Detroit Mayor William Barlum Thompson and was unveiled by a niece of Macomb's.{{sfn|Noble|1919|p=365}}

= Later history =

Due to the positive reception of the statue, Weinman was later commissioned to design a second public statue in the city, one honoring Detroit Mayor William C. Maybury that was dedicated in 1912.{{sfn|Nawrocki|2008|pp=13, 50}} In 1993, the Macomb monument was catalogued as part of the Save Outdoor Sculpture! project.{{sfn|Smithsonian Institution Research Information System}}

== Vandalism and calls for removal ==

{{See also|List of monuments and memorials removed during the George Floyd protests}}

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.{{sfn|Czachor|2020}} In a 2017 op-ed in The New York Times, historian Tiya Miles stated that Alexander Macomb (his father) and William Macomb (his uncle) had illegally purchased Grosse Ile from the Potawatomi people and were the largest slave-owners in Detroit in the late 1700s.{{sfn|Haddad|2021}} However, historians are unsure if Macomb himself had ever owned slaves.{{sfn|Czachor|2020}}{{sfn|Rubin|2020}} 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.{{sfn|Rubin|2020}} 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.{{sfn|Rubin|2020}} On September 5, 2020, the monument was vandalized again, with the words "Slave Owner Land Thief" spray-painted in red paint on the pedestal.{{sfn|Dado|2020}} In addition, someone had placed a bag over Macomb's head.{{sfn|Czachor|2020}} According to the Detroit Police Department, the city's department of public works would remove the paint while they investigated the incident.{{sfn|Czachor|2020}} Around the same time, Kyle Alexander de Beausset, a descendant of Macomb, wrote an article for the Detroit Free Press where he argued that the statue should be removed, saying, "What that statue does is relegate the slavery and genocide associated with the Macombs to historical footnotes. Slavery and genocide aren't footnotes⁠—they're a fundamental part of how we all got to where we're at today".{{sfn|Czachor|2020}}{{sfn|de Beausset|2020}}

Design

File:Macomb standing guard over Washington Blvd., Detroit.jpg

The monument consists of a bronze statue of Macomb atop a granite pedestal in the center of a circular platform.{{sfn|The Monumental News|1908|p=790}} The platform is made of a concrete aggregate.{{sfn|Smithsonian Institution Research Information System}} At the front of the monument, the platform has three semi-circular descending steps made of granite, while the back half of the platform is surrounded by a small parapet.{{sfn|The Monumental News|1908|p=790}} At the northern, eastern, and western edges of this parapet are small granite pedestals, upon which are placed bronze cannons from the War of 1812.{{sfn|The Monumental News|1908|p=790}} The diameter of this platform is approximately {{convert|30|ft|m}}.{{sfn|Smithsonian Institution Research Information System}} It resembles the original configuration of the base for the statue of Stevens T. Mason in Detroit.{{sfn|The Monumental News|1908|p=790}}

The pedestal for the statue is made of pink New Hampshire granite and measures {{convert|6|ft|5|in|m}} on either side and {{convert|7|ft|m}} tall.{{sfn|Smithsonian Institution Research Information System}} On the front face of the pedestal is a relief showing a wreath of oak leaves intertwined with a laurel wreath.{{sfn|Smithsonian Institution Research Information System}} Below this, the name "MACOMB" is engraved.{{sfn|The Monumental News|1908|p=790}} On the back face, the following is engraved: "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".{{sfn|Smithsonian Institution Research Information System}}

The statue depicts Macomb standing slightly off-center, dressed in his military uniform from the War of 1812.{{sfn|Nawrocki|2008|p=50}} It is approximately {{convert|9|ft|m}} tall and has a base with side measurements of {{convert|44|in|m}} and {{convert|42|in|m}}.{{sfn|Smithsonian Institution Research Information System}} His outerwear, including a hat and cape,{{sfn|Smithsonian Institution Research Information System}} was designed based on surviving photographic plates of Macomb.{{sfn|The Monumental News|1908|p=790}} Macomb is depicted with his hands clasped in front of him, with the wind ruffling his cape.{{sfn|The Monumental News|1908|p=790}} The statue has a green finish,{{sfn|The Monumental News|1908|p=790}}{{sfn|Architects' and Builders' Magazine|1909|p=146}} and small markings from the sculptor (" A.A.WEINMAN.FECIT") and foundry ("CAST BY/THE HENRY-BONNARD BRONZE CO./MT.VERNON N. Y. 1908.") are incised on the base of the statue.{{sfn|Smithsonian Institution Research Information System}}

= Analysis =

The monument was positively received upon its unveiling.{{sfn|Nawrocki|2008|pp=13, 50}} A 1919 article in Michigan History Magazine referred to it as "the most artistic sculpture in the city", which "should be cherished and preserved under all circumstances".{{sfn|Noble|1919|p=364}} A 1909 review of the monument in The International Studio was overwhelmingly positive, with the reviewer stating, "[t]he monument, without doubt, places its author in the front rank of younger American sculptors".{{sfn|Dyar|1909|p=XLV}} In particular, they highlighted the lifelike depiction of Macomb and the successful execution of the military uniform.{{sfn|Dyar|1909|p=XLV}} Art historian Philip Attwood, writing in The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art, points to the statue as an example of Weinman's work in "the French tradition of naturalistic, Romantic bronzes".{{sfn|Attwood|2011|p=176}}

Notes

References

Sources

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{{Cite journal|date=January 1909|title=Macomb Monument, Detroit, Mich.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GFI2AQAAMAAJ|journal=Architects' and Builders' Magazine|volume=XLI|issue=4|pages=146, 149|ref={{harvid|Architects' and Builders' Magazine|1909}}}}
{{Cite book|last=Attwood|first=Philip|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sPGdBxzaWj0C|title=The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2011|editor-last=Marter|editor-first=Joan|editor-link=Joan Marter|location=Oxford|pages=175–176|language=en|chapter=Weinman, Adolph Alexander|isbn=978-0-19-533579-8 }}
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{{Cite web|last=Czachor|first=Emily|date=September 6, 2020|title="Slave owner" was spray-painted on an Alexander Macomb monument in Detroit's historic district|url=https://www.newsweek.com/slave-owner-spray-painted-alexander-macomb-monument-detroits-historic-district-1529975|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211111151300/https://www.newsweek.com/slave-owner-spray-painted-alexander-macomb-monument-detroits-historic-district-1529975|archive-date=November 11, 2021|access-date=January 5, 2022|website=Newsweek|language=en}}
{{Cite web|last=Dado|first=Natasha|date=September 6, 2020|title=Detroit statue vandalized amid ongoing racial unrest in US cities|url=https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2020/09/06/detroit-statue-vandalized-amid-ongoing-racial-unrest-in-us-cities/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112013844/https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2020/09/06/detroit-statue-vandalized-amid-ongoing-racial-unrest-in-us-cities/|archive-date=November 12, 2021|access-date=January 5, 2022|website=WDIV-TV|language=en}}
{{Cite web |last=de Beausset |first=Kyle Alexander |date=June 19, 2020 |title=I'm a direct descendant of Gen. Alexander Macomb. It's time to take his statue down. {{!}} Opinion |url=https://www.freep.com/story/opinion/contributors/2020/06/19/take-down-gen-alexander-macomb-statue-detroit-descendant-says/3222280001/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111195341/https://www.freep.com/story/opinion/contributors/2020/06/19/take-down-gen-alexander-macomb-statue-detroit-descendant-says/3222280001/ |archive-date=November 11, 2022 |access-date=January 17, 2024 |website=Detroit Free Press}}
{{Cite journal|last=Dyar|first=Clara E.|date=December 1909|title=Adolph A. Weinman's Monument to Major-General Alexander Macomb|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8hDnAAAAMAAJ|journal=The International Studio|publisher=John Lane Company|volume=XXXIX|issue=154|pages=XLIV–XLV}}
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{{Cite web|title=General Alexander Macomb, (sculpture).|url=https://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=164105433QFH1.2794&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!21854~!16|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101163416/https://siris-artinventories.si.edu/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=164105433QFH1.2794&profile=ariall&source=~!siartinventories&view=subscriptionsummary&uri=full=3100001~!21854~!16|archive-date=January 1, 2022|access-date=January 1, 2022|website=Smithsonian Institution Research Information System|ref={{harvid|Smithsonian Institution Research Information System}}}}
{{Cite journal|date=March 1901|title=Monumental News|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8r46AQAAMAAJ|journal=Stone|volume=XXII|issue=3|pages=270–273|ref={{harvid|Stone|1901}}}}
{{Cite journal|date=March 27, 1902|title=Statue of Maj. Gen. Alexander Macomb|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dQ9HAQAAIAAJ|journal=United States Congressional Serial Set|publisher=United States Government Publishing Office|volume=57th United States Congress, 1st Session|issue=Report No. 871|pages=1–2|ref={{harvid|United States Congressional Serial Set|1902}}}}