This military action took place during perhaps the coldest time of the year in Cache Valley. Local settlers commented that it was unseasonably cold even for northern Utah, and it may have been as cold as −20 °F (−30 °C) on the morning of the 29th when the attack began. Several soldiers had come down with frostbite and other cold-weather problems, so that the 3rd volunteers were at only about 2/3 of their strength compared to when they had left Fort Douglas. Among the rations issued to the soldiers during the campaign was a ration of whiskey held in a canteen; several soldiers noted that this whiskey froze solid on the night before the attack.