The United States, at the time shortly after the opening of the Civil War at Fort Sumter, was trying to put together a force to “quash” the rebellion. What the states also had to contend with was relations with states that were considered “border states,” buffers between the Confederacy and the United States. The government had to figure a way to cautiously work with these states. In Indiana and Ohio, they were directly involved with working with the state of Kentucky. Through the dispatches between Dennison and Morton, it can be seen that they were trying to figure out ways to work with the border states.