'My dear Sir, Having submitted to Lord Hill your letter of the 27th Ultimo with the accompanying petition from Mrs Cook widow of Colonel Cook praying that her son may be appointed to a commission without purchase, I am directed to acquaint you that the list is so overloaded that however His Lordship might wish to oblige you, and to evince his regard for the services of an old officer, he feels that he could not with justice to those already noted --- that her request should be complied with. If however Mrs Cook should be enabled to purchase, which I fear is not the case, and her son be under 19, Lord Hill will cause his name to be placed on the list. Believe me very faithfully yours, Fitzroy Somerset' Field Marshal FitzRoy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan 1788 – 1855, known before 1852 as Lord FitzRoy Somerset, was a British Army officer. When a junior officer, he served in the Peninsular War and the Waterloo campaign, latterly as military secretary to the Duke of Wellington. He also took part in politics as Tory Member of Parliament for Truro, before becoming Master-General of the Ordnance. He became commander of the British troops sent to the Crimea in 1854: his primary objective was to defend Constantinople, and he was also ordered to besiege the Russian Port of Sevastopol. After an early success at the Battle of Alma, a failure to deliver orders with sufficient clarity caused the fateful Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava. Despite further success at the Battle of Inkerman, a poorly coordinated allied assault on Sevastopol in June 1855 was a complete failure. Raglan died later that month, after suffering from dysentery and depression. Size is 230mm x 185mm. Condition is good. Letter with light folding creases and age toning to paper.