And the loser gets to write the myths which are just as inaccurate. And nowhere is that more true than when dealing with the War of the Rebellion.
How about we start with this one?
The Union is older than the states and, in fact created them as states. The Union, and not themselves separately, procured their independence and their liberty. Union threw off their old dependence and made them states, such as they are.
Abraham Lincoln, Message to Congress, July 4, 1861