Union Soldier John W. N. Doak's Civil War Letters: #3, #4, and #5 Fall, 1862 After a year of hard fighting —including the Battles of Fort Donelson and Shiloh, Private John W. N. Doak managed to get a medical furlough to go home to Paris, Illinois in fall of 1862. After the Battle of Fort Donelson John developed a bad cough and he had regular bouts of diarrhea. He was sent home to convalesce. In his letters John often dismisses his recurring cough “as a bad cold.” It could h