Were Robert E. Lee and other Confederate Officers who swore an oath to the United States, traitors?

Great response Gunny O'Connell, thanks for your comments. I would like to answer the question regarding Washington, Jefferson, & Adams as well as many other founders, the answer is a resounding yes, they were considered traitors for taking up arms against the King and would have been arrested, prosecuted and most likely executed had things turned out differently. The other issue, is the fact that once you take an oath, an oath that many would say has no expiration date, you are making a commitment for a lifetime, you can't decide to simply resign and go to the other side and fight against the very thing you swore to defend, can you. Isn't that what treason is, it's very similar to what Benedict Arnold did in the Revolutionary War. The U.S. Constitution defines treason as levying war against the government and aiding and abetting its enemies. By that definition, every Confederate soldier in the Civil War -- as well as every political leader --was a traitor, afterall it was the Confederacy that attacked Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, in South Carolina’s Charleston Harbor. I do hope you understand that I'm playing the devils advocate here and pretty much repeating answers or explanations I've heard in the past regarding this topic. Again, thanks for your input and thank you for your many years of service.

Benedict Arnold, a serving officer in a rebellious army, a traitor, or loyal servant of the King? We won, so traitor it is. I agree wholeheartedly, an oath is an oath and cannot be discarded on a whim. But I would also add that an oath is subjective to honor on both sides, the taker and the receiver. Take the German officer corps in WWII. Oaths were sworn not only to the German State but to the Fuhrer himself. Had they stood against Hitler and his government when their murderous policies were enacted would they be viewed today as traitors, or men of honor? Von Stauffenberg got a Tom Cruise movie. Always with historical analysis there is the "What if" scenario. In the American Civil War "What if" there had been no exodus of Southern officers from the Union Army, if Lee had taken command of the Union Army, as was offered to him? In regard to the original question posed, I think a view of the social norms/constructs of the day have to be taken into consideration when the actions of events and people, the right and the wrong. The past is full of events we wish had never happened and in society today are viewed as wrong, what we must continue to do is learn from those mistakes and strive to not repeat them.

Very well said Gunny, hypotheticals are always difficult to put in context and things that happened in the past cannot be changed or altered. This very topic has been discussed and disagreed about by scholars of the Civil War for the past 150 years, and I suppose it will continue long after we're gone. Thanks again for your commentary.