Ramsey is also noted for his statements calling for the killing or removal of the Mdewakanton and Wahpekute Dakota from the state of Minnesota during the Dakota War of 1862. These statements came in response to attacks by the Dakota on American settlements, resulting in the death of not less than 800 civilian men, women and children and the displacement of thousands more. Ramsey declared on September 9, 1862: "The Sioux Indians of Minnesota must be exterminated or driven forever beyond the borders of the state." In 1863, in response to continued raids on civilian settlers, he authorized bounty payments on Dakota scalps.