the fervor of the early days in the reorganized militias wore off in the long grind of an eight-year war. now the right to elect their own officers was used to demand that the men not serve away from their state. men evaded service, bought substitutes to go for them as in the old days, and had to be bribed with higher and higher bounties to join the effort – which is why jefferson and samuel adams called them so expensive. as wartime inflation devalued the currency, other pledges had to be offered, including land grants and the promise of "a healthy slave" at the end of the war. some men would take a bounty and not show up. or they would show up for a while, desert, and then, when they felt the need for another bounty, sign up again in a different place. ... this practice was common enough to have its own technical term – "bounty jumping".