BOUNTY JUMPER

a term describing those who, during the Civil War, ’ accepted a bounty for enlisting, then deserted, after having collected the bounty paid by the Government. These bounties were paid during the later years of the war, when enlistments had become few and conscription could no longer reach many able bodied men. The amounts differed, from fifty to several hundreds of dollars. In comparison to the number of offenses committed few culprits were captured and punished. One man, on trial for this offense in 1865, confe ed to having jumped his bounty 32 times.