Civil War: a war between citizens of the same country.
Treason: the crime of betraying one's country, especially by attempting to kill the sovereign or overthrow the government.
They committed treason. The textbook definition of treason. I will admit that before the civil war, they were trying to secede, but it was still a civil war because they did not succeed at seceding.
Removing statues is not erasing history. Those statues were not put up before the war. Many were put up during the Jim Crow era with the intentions to intimidate black people by showing them that the government, police, and courts are not for them, they are for white people. You want to remember history? Go to a museum, read a book... but don't keep up statues of treasonous, traitors on public grounds of government buildings. Fuck, if you want to remember the history of the American civil war, just go to the south and look at the absence of slaves.
I am personally sickened by the leaders of the silliness sweepstakes at colleges around our country. At the moment,Yale, the bastion of academic uppity excellence is the most egregious of offenders. Then there is Oberlin, Berkley and a few others who have contracted a "Shit for brains" mentality. Safe spaces, Trigger warnings, and other snowflake absurdities diminish us. Did we fight WW2 and win because we had a pussy mentality. Did we build this country with the primary aim of political correctness. Bullshit. The Pioneers who traveled by wagon train to Oregon were definitely not snowflakes. They had courage to take whatever fates befell them. Did the West Virginia coal minors of old lie down and give up because their lot was almost hopeless? Hell no, we were collectively made of sterner stuff and we could handle diversity and hardships and derision from our "betters". We may not have liked or accepted a lower degree of acceptance but we did persevere.
I'm sorry that you have problems with other people doing things that don't affect you, but maybe you should stop being so sensitive about it.
My grandfather while working at Yosemite National Park, on a few occasions, had to escort out racists treating black families like shit. I know it's politically correct to not go around calling black people the "n" word, so my grandfather must be some kind of "shit for brains" snowflake, right? He wanted everyone to be able to enjoy the park without harassment, but I guess he won the silliness sweepstakes by trying to create a place that was safe for everyone. I suppose he was a pussy for fighting against the racism at the time.
He also fought, killed, and captured many Germans during WWII. He single handedly captured about 40 German soldiers (drunk in a bar), and you're calling him a pussy? You're calling him a snowflake? You're saying he has "shit for brains?" Yes, all those things you listed are things my grandfather supported and he was also a bad ass in WWII.
I think what you said there is absurd.
Jefferson and Washington were slave holders, Their faces are spectacularly displayed on the side of Mount Rushmore. Must we do away with those monuments too?
I see that the Russian and Bannon trolls/bots have been effective in spreading their message. Jefferson and Washington did have slaves, but they didn't kill their American brethren to keep their slaves. It's not that difficult to see the difference.