Alexander Ramsey was governor of Minnesota during the first few years of the Civil War. He was in Washington, D.C., when war was declared, and rushed to offer up 1,000 Minnesota troops to the Union cause. Ramsey served as senator from 1864 to 1875 before becoming Secretary of War under President Hayes from 1879 to 1881. This hat would have been a part of Ramsey's official uniform while he was Secretary of War.