No, they did not. That wholly unprovoked war of northern aggression was fought over state's rights and the limits of federal power in a union of states. Of course, when many northern men failed to enlist, mostly because they knew the truth, Abraham Lincoln ('honest Abe', what a crock) started making noises about how the north had to 'free the slaves' and how it was a 'noble undertaking'. Well, it worked. Northern men swelled the ranks of the Union army and the rest is history. Funny fact, up to that time the Confederacy was kicking northern asses for fun.

From that day to this, the Confederate States of America are and have been conquered territory. At the conclusion of the war, the union army occupied the Confederate States, raping the women and stealing anything that was not nailed down. Not only did these actions go unpunished, they were actively encouraged by the senior officers in command;

The Infamous "Woman Order" of Occupied New Orleans, also known as General Benjamin Butler's Infamous General Orders No. 28:


HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF,
New Orleans, May 15, 1862.

As the officers and soldiers of the United States have been subject to repeated insults from the women (calling themselves ladies) of New Orleans in return for the most scrupulous non-interference and courtesy on our part, it is ordered that hereafter when any female shall by word, gesture, or movement insult or show contempt for any officer or soldier of the United States she shall be regarded and held liable to be treated as a woman of the town plying her avocation.

"[M]ost scrupulous non-interference and courtesy on our part". Riiiight. And these virtuous 'liberators of the slaves' weren't too picky about who got raped:

"In the spring of 1863, John N. Williams of the 7th Tennessee Regiment wrote in his diary, “Heard from home. The Yankees has been through there. Seem to be their object to commit rape on every Negro woman they can find.” Many times, troops and ruffians raped black women while forcing white women to watch, a horrifying experience for all, and a proxy rape of white women. B. E. Harrison of Leesburg, Va., wrote a letter to President Abraham Lincoln complaining that federal troops had raped his “servant girl” in the presence of his wife. Gen. William Dwight reported, “Negro women were ravished in the presence of white women and children.” Just as the rape of white women implied that Southern men were unable to protect their mothers, wives and daughters, the rape of slave women told whites they could no longer protect their property".