No. Justice Grier, In Texas v. White, wrote, "[t]he ordinance of secession was adopted by the convention on the 18th of February, 1861; submitted to a vote of the people, and ratified by an overwhelming majority. I admit that this was a very ill-advised measure. Still it was the sovereign act of a sovereign State."
Again, you try to sow confusion by attempting a twist on the meaning of simple words. You keep saying that secession was an act of the people but won't admit that it was a public act. The states seceded as states in conventions organized by the legislatures. That's as public as public gets.
Either way, you're screwed. If you are saying that the people acted outside of the legislature then they were indeed rebels and secession never existed since the legislatures had no say. If you admit that the legislatures turned over power to the conventions then that is covered under Article IV and since they didn't follow Article IV, they were rebels, and secession never existed because it was never proven.