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[you quoting Burnside's General Orders No. 38, with your bold emphasis]:

The habit of declaring sympathies for the enemy will no longer be tolerated in the department.

Where did Vallandigham declare sympathy for the enemy? Was telling people to obey the military and civil laws but vote the rascal out at the ballot box and declaring that he would never be a party to the separation of the country declaring sympathy for the enemy? I learn something new every day.

Why wasn't McClellan arrested for running against Lincoln in 1864? Wasn't McClellan arguing for people to obey the laws and throw the rascal out at the ballot box?

rusty: "Where did Vallandigham declare sympathy for the enemy? "

Let me put it to you this way: in the past 25 years, how many dozens or hundreds of convicted murderers, rapists and others have been released from death rows, prisons, and sent home because DNA evidence later proved they did not commit the crimes that lawful, careful courts convicted them of?

So anyone can reasonably argue that miscarriages of justice are always possible in our legal system, even under the most carefully controlled circumstances, such as a civilian murder trial.

The record shows the court believed Vallandigham did express sympathy for the enemy and he was, per General Order #38, exiled for it.
But he ran for Ohio governor from exile, and when he returned to the Democrats' Chicago convention in 1864, President Lincoln knew of it and refused to order Vallandigham's arrest.

The record also suggests that Vallandigham did in fact help the Confederates while in Richmond and in Canada.
So he was not perfectly innocent.

"While in Canada, Vallandigham met with Jacob Thompson, who was a representative of the confederate government.
He talked to Thompson about plans for forming a Northwestern Confederacy, consisting of the states of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois by overthrowing their governments.
He requested money for weapons from the confederates.
Vallandigham refused to handle the money himself and it was given to his associate James A. Barrett.

Part of the confederate plan was to liberate confederate prisoners of war.[35]
The intended revolt never materialized."

Again I ask: can you cite an equivalent example of Confederate response to political dissent?