History of Northampton, Massachusetts, from its settlement in 1654;

398 HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTON. [irr?.
Enlisting continen- Nortliamptoii was required to furnish
tai Soldiers. tweuty-uine men, and in April the work
of enlisting them began. The town offered
a bounty of £30, equal to $100 for each soldier, and in-
structed the militia officers to classify their companies into
as many divisions as there were men wanted. Each class
was to procure a man, receiving from the town £30 to pay
the bounty. This first application of the bount}'^ system
caused some trouble to the enlisted men, as the amount was
deducted from their wages at the end of their term of service.
The men applied to the town for relief. They had
been deprived of fifteen months' pay by order of the Gen-
eral Court, on account of the bounty. A committee appointed
to consider the matter reported that the town
should make application to the Legislature for compensation,
and if it could not be obtained before 1784, the town
should pay each man a sum equivalent to £30 and interest.
This only applied to those who served three years.
Bounty Money At first the town votcd a bounty of £15,
Increased. payable in installments of £5 each. One
payment was to be made when the soldiers
marched, and the rest at the commencement of each succeeding
year of service. This was not satisfactory, and
the men could not be obtained. One object in making such
an arrangement undoubtedly was to make sure if possible,
that the men should serve their full time or forfeit a portion
of their bounty. In a short time it was voted to pay
the whole bounty before marching. But that did not get
the men, and it was soon found necessary to double the
amount. A proposition was made to the soldiers to take
town notes for one year for the whole or part of the bounty,
and money was borrowed of any individuals willing to lend
it, to make up any deficiency. It appears that many persons
had failed to pay their "proportion in promoting the
public cause," and a committee of five persons, one from
each of the five militia companies, was appointed to collect
the same. Seventy pounds in the treasury collected as fines
from such persons as had "refused to march in the last
Draught of the militia," was applied to the payment of
bounties, and the remainder was to be assessed upon the