Was Lincoln in the wrong when he didn't recognize the seceded South as a country?

[OliverClozoff]

Contrary to popular belief, every state in America reserves the right to secede from the Union. Think about it: the southern states secede from the union one by one, and Lincoln (naturally) had a problem with that. When southern state representatives went to Washington to negotiate peace and form trade agreements (something you won't read in school books), Lincoln refused to agree to any terms because doing so would mean he would have to admit that the Confederate States of America was a legitimate nation. And this was all before the South started attacking Union forts on Confederate land. So my question is this: was Lincoln in the wrong when he disregarded states' rights to secede?