I thought 3 °F seemed kind of cold this morning – and I sure wasn’t outside for a whole guard shift
From a Seneca County, New York in January 1864:
During the recent cold snap, eighty soldiers on guard at Camp Douglas, near Chicago, had their feet, ankles and hands so badly frozen that they are incapacitated for duty for some time – many for all their lives.
And according to Wikipedia it sure was cold:
A blizzard and temperatures of −18 °F (−28 °C) occurred on January 1, 1864. Some prisoners who escaped at this time were found frozen to death nearby. … General Orme obtained some Union army overcoats outside of channels and distributed them to prisoners. But when Colonel Hoffman learned of his actions, he reprimanded him for proceeding outside regulations.
I don’t know any of the details but the following photo shows some rebel prisoners at Camp Douglas who apparently got to prison with some relatively warm Confederate uniforms.
button up your overcoats
