Keep in mind that the term in 1861 was united States.
Virginia was a sovereign State with an agreement with other sovereign states.
It would be much like if the United States (as it is now a sovereign country after the WBTS) pulled out of the UN and the UN went to war with us to prevent that secession.
Would you call G. W. Bush (or yourself) a traitor?
> Would you call G. W. Bush (or yourself) a traitor?
Depends. In your hypothetical, did GWB (or you) take an oath of allegience to the UN?
And also, the South didn't just seccede, they also launched a war. It was a mind-bogglingly stupid decision, ranking right up there with Pearl Harbor. The amazing thing was that the War Of Southern Aggression was as successful for the South as it was; as with Vietnam (and possibly Iraq in the future), the US had the overwhelming superiority in might and right, but was undermined by protestors and some poor military leadership.
Oh, come now. The federalist papers had made very clear that the threat of disbanding would paralize democracy. The Articles of Confederation were soluble. The US Constitution was not.