In 1821, when he left for Washington to become Chief of the Army Corps of Engineers, the citizens of Detroit presented him with a silver tankard of gratitude bearing the inscription:
PRESENTED
to
MAJOR-GENERAL ALEXANDER MACOMB
by
THE CITIZENS OF HIS NATIVE PLACE, DETROIT,
AS A TESTIMONIAL
OF ATTACHMENT AND RESPECT
FOR HIS PERSON AND CHARACTER
June 4, A.D., 1821
Alexander Macomb went on to become, like Alexander Hamilton (and Mad Anthony Wayne!) before him, Commanding General of the U.S. Army.
He also painted this —
(Detroit as Seen from Canadian Shore, 1821. Alexander Macomb. Source.)
— and wrote a play about Chief Pontiac. Renaissance man!
Excerpt from Amy Elliott Bragg, “Detroit history in Washington, D.C.: Alexander Macomb“, Night Train, May 9, 2012.