Finding information on Captain Jerome Bonaparte “Bony” Cox proved to be a challenge at first. We know that he received his commission on November 20, 1861 and resigned on June 2, 1863. We assume he mustered out with the rest of the 10th Indiana Battery. There was no reason given as to why he resigned and none are indicated in these letters. However, a news article indicates there was an issue with misappropriation of funds, a charge which was brought forth against him at some point but eventually dismissed.
His life after the war did garner some greater attention. Following his service, Captain Cox and his family moved to California sometime before a third daughter was born in 1867. He engaged in a business deal that eventually turned bad and ended up filing a law suit. The suit continued on for years and became so heated that Cox shot and killed the man he had sued. There was a trial but he ended getting off. The lawsuit itself continued all the way to the California State Supreme Court where he won a large settlement, including interest.
The incident is alluded to in his obituary which reads:
Funeral of Jerome Cox
A touching Eulogy by General W.H.L. Barnes
Amid appropriate ceremonies and a profusion of flowers the remains of Captain Jerome B Cox were laid to rest yesterday in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland. The funeral services were held at the Masonic Temple, and were attended by the members of Pacific Lodge No. 136 Free and Accepted Masons of which the deceased was a member, and a number of friends and relatives.
After the services of the Masonic order had been read General Barnes delivered eulogy which visibly affected his hearers. He began by saying he had come to speak one kind word for his old friend who had been summoned to meet his maker.
Continuing, he said: “Considering the vicissitudes of his life I do not feel like saying that this is an hour of sadness. To him the sky is no longer clouded; his ears are no longer filled with the conflict of life. He has passed from us, and I trust, that in his future home he will be happier than he was while in our midst. There is no patriot who loved his country more than Jerome Cox. No man has done more for his country than the one whose cold and rigid body is about to be consigned to the grave. He lived a useful life but circumstances prevented him from enjoying it. The serious trouble in which he was involved is, in one sense, to be regretted, yet we all felt he was justified. He was persecuted and laughed at, and in a moment of frenzy he fired the shot that terminated the career of a relentless enemy. He was right, and I trust that the recording angel will forever wipe the stain from the book of life and allow him to enjoy the peace and happiness that rightfully belong to him.”