AN IMPROVED CAMP KITCHEN FOR TROOPS IN CAMPAIGN
Year: 1878

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Henri Entz, Retired Cavalry Officer, Chevalier of the Legion
of Honor, of the City of Paris, in the Empire of France, for the Invention of
"AN IMPROVED CAMP KITCHEN FOR TROOPS IN CAMPAIGN."
Sealed the 29th November 1878, and dated the 7th June 1878.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Henri Entz at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 7th June 1878.
HENRI ENTZ, Retired Cavalry Officer, Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, of
the City of Paris, in the Empire of France. "AN IMPROVED CAMP KITCHEN FOR
TROOPS IN CAMPAIGN."
The object of my Invention is to provide a ready mode of cooking food for troops
in campaign. This is effected by the employment of a traveling camp cooking
stove or kitchen, fulfilling all the requisite conditions of hygienic alimentation for
an army, either stationary or on the march, and the practical character of which
does not interfere with the habits of the men, nor does it necessitate a change of
the utensils employed in cooking.
My Invention consists essentially in the construction of a movable stove, mounted
on wheels, for receiving in groups the pots or pans as in actual use at the present
time in the army, and in which only a slight modification is introduced which is to
render the vertical front and rear faces perfectly smooth.
To insure a constant vertical position to the pots, notwithstanding the irregularity
of the ground, they are suspended by ears to the handles, and this gives them
sufficient mobility. The regulation form of concave and convex admits of my
arranging them in rows, one following the other, leaving between them a space of
a few millimètres only, and each pot hung by its points of suspension in a manner
neutralizes the rocking motion occasioned by the unevenness of rough or badly
kept roads.
To cook whilst marching I add to each utensil a tin float, which furnished with
a small air tube prevents any loss of liquid.

page_text: The pots may be arranged in one, two, three, four, or more rows, and in indefinite
numbers in each row.
The stove consists of a case having in rear one or more grates, and above a plate
cut to receive each pot. The cuts or openings made in this plate for two consecutive
rows are made so as to bring them as close together as possible, and reduce the size
of the stove, whilst at the same time the handles of the pots are left so as to be
easily got at.
A perforated plate is placed above the fire to interpose between it and the
bottoms of the pots, and to spread the heat uniformly.
Stoves for the officers' cooking may be reserved if necessary, and there are com-
partments for storing provisions and fuel.
The stove, furnished with its chimney, has its draught regulated by a damper.
Hand rails allow of passing all round the stove, and hinged covers close the top and
admit of examining any of the pots.
The form and dimensions of the stoves may vary, and with them the number and
rows of pots. They may also be arranged as ambulance stoves, and for similar
purposes. They may be drawn by horse or by hand, or be constructed to run
on rails.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Henri Entz in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 5th December
1878.
HENRI ENTZ, Retired Cavalry Officer, Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, of the
City of Paris, in the Empire of France. "AN IMPROVED CAMP KITCHEN FOR
TROOPS IN CAMPAIGN."
The inconveniences and drawbacks resulting from the present mode of camp
cooking are the essential features which this Invention is intended to grapple with
and overcome by the substitution therefore of a travelling camp kitchen or stove,
fulfilling all the requisite conditions of hygienic alimentation for an army, either
stationary or on the march, and the practical character of which does not interfero
with the habits of the men, nor does it necessitate a change of the utensils employed
in cooking, these remarks pertaining, as example, to French soldiers.
My Invention consists in the construction of a movable stove, mounted on wheels,
for receiving in groups of variable number the pots and pans as in actual use in the
French army at the present time, and in which a slight modification only is
introduced by substituting for the two small attachment devices a crossed strap.
To insure a constant vertical position to the pots, and neutralize the effects of
the irregularities of the ground, they are suspended by the handles from the ears,
which gives them sufficient mobility. Their regulation form of concave on one side,

page_text: and convex on the other permits of placing them side by side, leaving a space of a
few millimètres between each, and which does not prevent them forming a whole,
movable by the points of suspension, and being, so to speak, neutralized from the
rocking motion, front and rear, caused by the unevenness of rough or badly kept
roads.
In cooking whilst on the march each pot is provided with a float to prevent
waste of liquid.
The accompanying Drawings represent different models of cooking stoves,
varying in size, but all supplied with the French pots or cooking utensils. It may
easily be conceived that the construction may be modified to suit the English type
of utensil, or any other form.
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a stove or camp kitchen containing 48 pots, disposed
in four rows; Fig. 2 is a front view of the stove; Fig. 3 is a plan, partly in section.
In Figs. 1 and 2 parts torn away allow the principal organs to become visible.
Figs. 4 and 5 show the mode of suspending the pots, seen in elevation and plan.
Fig. 6 is the float; and Fig. 7, the 1/2 plan of the metal plate for spreading
uniformly and regulating the heat.
Fig. 8 is a front view of a stove with two rows of pots.
Figs. 9 and 10 represent in side elevation and end view a stove with three rows
of pots and a single axle.
Figs. 11 and 12 is a model of a stove for ambulance and staff officers.
Description of the Stove from Figs. 1 to 7.-The stove, properly so called,
consists of a case divided in two compartments, each one having its grate a and
door b; the gases of the stove run over the spaces c, and are discharged outside by
the chimney with damper d. The vault of the stove is formed of a plate f, cut or.
open to receive the pots p side by side, either in four rows, corresponding, as shown,
in the anterior part of the plan, Fig. 3, or by arranging the rows as represented in
the posterior part of this same plan. By this latter arrangement the plate is
rendered more solid, and the rows of pots can be brought closer together, whilst
allowing of lengthening the handles of the lids. This increases the length of the
stove a little, but also admits of reducing its breadth when required. Between the
grates a is a stove x, used for roasting and other purpose. Below the channels c
are compartments e for the fuel, and in rear a reservoir of water may be established
ad libitum. Under the plate f, supporting the pots and a short distance from them
at the bottom, is a plate of sheet iron g (Fig. 7), which being introduced between
the pots and the stove has the effect of regulating the heat and of distributing it
uniformly to all the utensils from the first to the last row. This regulator or
damper g has four triangular openings i cut in it, the point of which is at the stove
end, being made along the axis of the pots. These openings distribute the heat in
progressive quantity as the pots become more distant from the stove. Four rect-
angular openings are also made above the grate a, one for each row, and one or
two dampers may be employed as required, moving in slides of the stove, and
worked by a handle outside for moderating the intercepting effects of the dampers.
These moderating registers h are made of two sheets of iron, separated from one
another a few centimètres, and united by stays. Thus there exists between the
stove and the bottom of the pots space sufficient to protect these pots from the
radiating heat, and by pushing these more or less in, less or greater heat is given
by the stove.
The stove or kitchen mounted on a carriage of four wheels may be drawn by one
or two horses, or may be drawn by men.
jare the ash pans, placed behind; k are receptacles for storing vegetables, meat
and provisions, hung by chains between the axles; are foot boards, varying in
number for easy access to the pots; v are guards or hand rails.
A cover, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, protects the whole; it comprises four parts with
hinges m, movable when required for inspecting, removing, or putting in the pots.
The divisions of the cover correspond with the four compartments of the apparatus,

page_text: so that when the heat is too great at one part of the stove the cover that closes it
is opened.
The pots p (Figs. 4 and 5), minus their ordinary attachments, as at present
in vogue, are placed side by side, leaving a small space between each, the convex
part of the second following in succession the concave part of the preceding one,
and so on throughout. The handles q right themselves in resting against the lids.
The attachments r of the handles q are the axes of suspension and mobility of the
pots. They lie between prisms n of the supporting plate f, which allows each pot
to oscillate or swing whilst the kitchen or stove is in motion.
The floats 8, Fig. 6, are of tin; they are flat at the bottom and concave above,
and their form is adapted to or fits that of the pot. t is an air tube, which however
may be suppressed.
The draught of the stoves is effected as illustrated by the Drawing, or by
return of the flame. The chimney, divided in two by a partition for corresponding
with each of the stoves, may be hinged level with the case or cover; keys regulate
the draught.
Sheet-iron plates for filling up the spaces where the pots are absent are kept in
the receptacles k.
It is practicable to light one fire only, and so use one row of pots only. The
number of the pots are variable; 48 may be used, as in the Drawing, or a greater
or less number, either arranged in four rows, even or uneven, as in Figs. 1, 2, and 3,
or two rows, as in Fig. 8, or three rows, as in Figs. 9 and 10. Constructed as in
Figs. 8, 9, and 10 the advantage gained is the reduction of the breadth of the
stove, for a horse, one axle, Figs. 9 and 10, suffices, and prop rods y insure its
stability.
Figs. 11 and 12 represent this camp kitchen in two views for the use of staff
officers and ambulances. is the door to the grate a; p are the pots; H are
two saucepans for preparing other things than soup; I is a coal stove; K, funnel
of the water reservoir; m is the cover protecting the case N, with compartments
N', N, N, and the driver's seat J; N¹is for wines; N", for the kitchen utensils;
and N, for accessories; O is an ice compartment; S, cook's seats. The kitchen or
stove, Figs. 11 and 12, is for staff officers; for ambulance, it is slightly modified to
suit this particular service.
Finally. I have merely selected the French form of pot represented in the
Drawing as that for illustrating the nature of my Invention, because it appears to
me the most handy, but, as before mentioned, the same principle of construction
applies to pots of various forms, as now used by armies of all nations.
The basis of my Invention resting in the novel idea of grouping such utensils,
and in so doing profiting by their form (or in creating some suitable shape), the
said pots, utensils, or their equivalents being arranged in rows, varying in number,
hung by the ears to which the handles are attached in such a manner that they
receive the heat of the stoves mounted on a kitchen running on 4, 2, or 3 wheels, as
the case may be.
These kitchen stoves thus established for feeding troops in campaign, or stationary
for the staff, or for ambulance, can be drawn by hand, or by one or more horses;
they may also be constructed to run on lines of railway.
I claim,―
1st. The mode of construction as exemplified by Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive, with all
the stipulated details, rendering the object of my Invention practical, especially the
mode of suspending the pots and the use of floats.
2nd. Kitchen stove with two rows of pots, Fig. 8.
3rd. The same with three rows, Figs. 9 & 10.
4th. The camp kitchen, Figs. 11 and 12, for the staff and ambulance.
5th. The right of varying the number of the pots or cooking utensils from one
row to four and more, and arranging them in parallel rows or in any other con-

page_text: 6th. The faculty of employing the pots now in use, or in creating some whose
form is compatible with the specific objects of my Invention, as herein expressed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Henri Entz, have hereunto set my hand and
Beal, this
day of
in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.
HENRI ENTZ. (LS.)