Vermont Bar Journal, Vol. 40, No. 2 Spring 2014, Vol. 40, No. 1 | Page 15

Soldier’s Bounty
Jamaica resident David Gale volunteered to join the Union army in 1863, and
when his term was up, he reenlisted, after
learning that the town had offered $500 to
any man who would help fulfill its statutory
quota of soldiers. When he returned from
fighting the town refused to pay him the
funds.50 Gale’s name had been listed on Jamaica’s roster with the Vermont Adjutant
General, but by the time Jamaica’s selectmen learned of it the town had already met
its quota. Gale sued to recover his town
bounty. Under the rules at the time, the soldier had the right to place himself on the
list of men from a town that had failed to
fulfill its required muster of soldiers. Chief
Judge John Pierpoint, for the court, ordered Jamaica to pay Gale for his service,
finding