14 x 9 x 6 1/4 in. (losses to interior paper lining, wear to leather, original leather straps connecting to lid no longer present). Functioning lock with key inside. Identified on front panel "Wm. M. / U.S.N." and on both side panels "Wm. Macomb." Undated, likely not military issue.

The son of a major general, Macomb enlisted in the Navy in 1834 as a midshipman, rising to Commander in 1862, the year in which he assumed command of the USS Genesee. After the war, he achieved the rank of Commodore. The destroyer Macomb (1941) was named in his honor and that of his first cousin.