Alexander Randall

Alexander Williams Randall (October 31, 1819 – July 26, 1872) was an American lawyer, judge, and Republican politician from Waukesha, Wisconsin. He served as the 22nd U.S. postmaster general, during the administration of President Andrew Johnson (1865–1869). He previously served as the sixth governor of Wisconsin (1858–1862) and, as governor, was instrumental in raising and organizing the first Wisconsin volunteer troops for the Union Army during the American Civil War. He is the namesake of Camp Randall and Camp Randall Stadium.

Life and career Randall was born in Ames, New York, on October 31, 1819. His father, Phineas, was judge of the court of common pleas there from 1837 to 1841. Randall attended Cherry Valley Academy in New York then studied law with his father. He was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly for the 1855 session and was the Republican Party's first candidate for Attorney General of Wisconsin, running unsuccessfully in the 1855 election. From 1855 to 1857, he was a circuit judge in Milwaukee.

Prior to the beginning of the Civil War, he was an ardent abolitionist and proposed that Wisconsin secede from the Union if Abraham Lincoln did not win the presidency.

As governor, Randall conducted an investigation of fraud in the distribution of federal railroad land grants in Wisconsin perpetrated by his predecessor, Republican Governor Coles Bashford.

Civil War Once war began Randall raised 18 regiments, 10 artillery batteries, and three cavalry units before leaving office, exceeding Wisconsin's quota by 3,232 men. The Union Army created a military camp from the former state fairgrounds in Madison, Wisconsin, and named it "Camp Randall" after the governor. Camp Randall Stadium is now located on the site of the military camp.

In 1861, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Randall U.S. Minister to the Papal States. He was succeeded by Richard Milford Blatchford, and, in 1863, accepted appointment as Assistant Postmaster General.

Wisconsin Governor