My Brother Sam is Dead cause and effect

When Sam ran off to go and join the war, he couldn't turn back. When he signed up, there was no turning back. If he would leave the army, they would execute or hang him. If he would keep fighting in the war, he would most likely die, and to fight he needed a gun. So he stole the family's gun and left them defenseless and with no way to hunt in the winter. Also, because he left, his Dad had to go on a trip with Tim instead of Sam. Since there were cattle thieves, Tim's dead had to ride ahead and watch out for the thieves, which led to his father getting captured and killed. Just because Sam ran away and took the gun, all this happened and changed the whole book.