Yeah, that's why he calls them rebels.
Since you didn't know that Davis was already a well known traitor when Fort Sumter was fired on, calling his provisional leadership of the rebellion "a tidbit," you probably also aren't aware that in the North, "the Government" to which the watchmaker also plainly refers, was -- like "The Union" -- equivalent to "The United States of America." (Read Lincoln's Second Inaugural, or the Gettysburg Address if you want to educate yourself.)
Again, thanks for sharing your opinion.