Goose/Gander. New England was willing to secede to avoid fighting the United Kingdom. I daresay that would have been regarded as treason on the part of the South had they done the same.
Apparently New England didn’t like being the battlefield. Imagine that.
Nice try, but that isn't what the south said at the time. Here's one editorial:
"No man, no association of men, no state or set of states has a right to withdraw itself from this Union, of its own accord. The same power which knit us together, can only unknit. The same formality, which forged the links of the Union, is necessary to dissolve it. The majority of States which form the Union must consent to the withdrawal of any one branch of it. Until that consent has been obtained, any attempt to dissolve the Union, or obstruct the efficacy of its constitutional laws, is Treason--Treason to all intents and purposes. . . . This illustrious Union, which has been cemented by the blood of our forefathers, the pride of America and the wonder of the world must not be tamely sacrificed to the heated brains or the aspiring hearts of a few malcontents. The Union must be saved, when any one shall dare to assail it." [Richmond Enquirer, 1 November 1814]Nothing there about it being wartime. Instead it's all about consent of the other states being necessary to dissolve the union.