What was an 'army agent'?
'Cox & Co. were commonly called the 'Bankers of the British Army' but such a designation conveys a very imperfect impression of their position, and of the numerous and varied functions which their business comprised. The administration and accountability of the public emoluments, and personal incomes of some five thousand officers scattered over all parts of the Globe, was only one, and by no means the most important of the services imposed upon the great house in Craig's Court.
They were not only bankers, but the official brokers so to say for the sale and purchase of Military Commissions, the recognised intermediaries for effecting regimental exchanges and transfers; and the executive agents for the onerous and responsible work involved in the clothing and equipment of the army.
Such duties - many of them of a peculiarly delicate character - necessarily kept them in continuous communication with all departments of the Government connected with the military service, from the Commander in Chief and the secretary at War, down to Captains of Companies and regimental quarter masters, and at the same time brought them into intimate personal relations with all their clients.
The boy gazetted to his first commission, the field officer aspiring to the command of his regiment, the veteran contemplating retirement, and the officer's widow claiming her poor pension, alike addressed themselves to Cox & Co. certain to find sound counsel, effectual help and kindly sympathy.
It need hardly be pointed out how much business experience and capacity, how complete a mastery of the regulations and practice governing the army, how strong a grasp of a vast variety of technical detail, and above all, how great a degree of unfailing tact in the intercourse with men of all ranks, classes and conditions, were indispensable for the efficient performance of such services.
Military officers, more especially in their earlier years, are not noted for the exercise of strict economy in their private expenditure, and when the imprudent or unwary subaltern after an unsuccessful attempt to retrieve his position by a desperate resort to Epsom Downs, or to money lenders, saw ruin staring him in the face, it was to Craig's Court that he instinctively bent his steps. There he was sure of an indulgent hearing, and of such material help as the case might admit of, and often when the strict exigencies of business compelled the firm to harden their hearts against the appeal, the generosity of an individual partner would come to the rescue, and by timely aid, accompanied perhaps by a paternal warning for the future, would thus save a young life from wreck.'
Quoted from family notes.