The firing by the Rebels on Ft. Sumter set in motion a chain of events that would set the course for the United States and the eventual Confederate States of America on a war footing. While both sides believed the war would be a short and decisive one, it didn’t turn out to be that way. As can be seen through the readings in all textbooks, and from the Oliver P. Morton’s telegraphs from the beginning of the war (April 1861-September 1861) show that the states major emphasis was preparing their states for war. The significance that students can see and look at here is cause and effect relationships in not only Washington and the entire United States, but focus centrally on that response of Indiana.