If I understand your question, the leaders of the confederacy  believed states had the right to secede from the Union.
Ash dieback (Chalara fraxinea) is a fungal disease that affects ash trees.It has spread throughout much of western Europe. The disease causes die back of the tree's crown and infects the vascular system causing blockages.sh dieback (Chalara fraxinea) is a fungal disease that affects ash trees.
Ashes, ashes/ we all fall down refers directly to death. These ashes were a direct indication of the dead who were cremated. It was seen that 60% of the population was wiped off by bubonic plague infections. It was the Great Fire of London in 1666 that burned all the rats, which were carriers of the plague, to ashes.