Camp, near Sebastopol, May 23rd, 1856.
Sir,—I have the honour to report that the result of the experimental cooking by Monsieur Soyer’s stove and boiler has been most satisfactory.
The small quantity of fuel required is a great advantage, a small stick carried by each man of a company would afford sufficient fuel to cook a meal.
I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your most obedient humble servant,
W. Sparke, Lieut.-Col.,
Commanding 38th Regiment.
The Major of Brigade.
Camp, Sebastopol, May 25th, 1856.
Sir,—I have to acknowledge your letter of this morning, and have much pleasure in stating that during the short period we had the opportunity of using your field-stove, nothing could be more satisfactory, both in its superiority as a means of cooking a large quantity of rations in a short time, and also from the small quantity of fuel used in doing so. I must also give it as my opinion, that it is admirably suited for operations in the field, but requires to have the outer casing protected in some way; probably an open netting of iron wire would do so, with a couple of loops, so that two stoves could be attached and carried by one mule or horse.
I remain, Sir,
Yours very faithfully,
Ramsay Stuart,
Lieutenant-Colonel 21st Fusiliers.
Alexis Soyer, Esq.,
&c. &c. &c.,
Crimea.