The Noah Deaton papers contain six letters written by Deaton to his father, William Deaton, and to his future wife, Sarah Jane McDonald, during his service in the 26th North Carolina Infantry Regiment. Deaton wrote mainly about military movements and interactions between his regiment and Union soldiers, including several skirmishes in Virginia and North Carolina. On one occasion, North Carolina Governor Zebulon Vance accompanied the regiment, as the Yankees broke up telegraph and railroad lines and eventually skirmished with the rebels outside of Goldsboro, North Carolina (December 19, 1862). Shortly after the Battle of Gettysburg, Deaton expressed his fear that the conviction of his fellow soldiers was waning, but he staunchly refused to submit to "Old Abe" (July 8, 1864). Deaton composed the final letter while imprisoned at Point Lookout, where he manufactured rings and breast pins for the Union Army. He described his condition as tolerable, but expressed pleasure at hearing news from home (October 10, 1864).
Deaton included a poem, "Soldiers Farewell," in his letter of June 23-30, 1863,
Noah Deaton was born on October 26, 1838, in North Carolina. He enlisted as a private in Company H of the 26th North Carolina Infantry Regiment on June 6, 1861, and served the Confederacy in the Gettysburg Campaign until his capture at Bristoe Station on October 14, 1863. He was sent to Old Capitol Prison and Point Lookout before his release in February 1865; he was formally exchanged in March 1865. After the war, he married Sarah Jane McDonald, and the couple had 8 children. Deaton died on March 24, 1922.
