The 1798 Bank of Pennsylvania heist stands as a significant event in early American criminal history, notable as the first major bank robbery in the United States. This audacious crime, which occurred between August 31 and September 1, 1798, saw a substantial sum of $162,821 stolen from the Bank of Pennsylvania, then located in Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia. This amount would be equivalent to over $3.1 million in today's currency. The robbery not only
involved a significant financial loss but also led to a complex investigation, the false imprisonment of an innocent man, and a corrupt deal that allowed one of the true perpetrators to escape justice.
The Crime and Its Immediate Aftermath
The robbery itself was executed with a surprising lack of overt force. There were no signs of forced entry into the bank, and the vault was believed to have been opened using a forged key. This detail immediately pointed suspicion towards individuals with intimate knowledge of the bank's security or those capable of creating such a key. The city of Philadelphia was also in the grip of a yellow fever epidemic at the time, which had caused many residents, including President John Adams and Congress, to abandon the city. This created a less vigilant environment, potentially aiding the perpetrators.
One of the key figures initially implicated was Patrick Lyon, a blacksmith who had recently forged the vault doors and fitted the locks for the bank. Lyon had left Philadelphia on August 26, 1798, to escape the yellow fever epidemic, traveling to Lewes, Delaware. Despite his absence, he became the prime suspect, largely because of the lack of forced entry and the belief that only someone with his skills could have compromised the vault. Lyon returned to Philadelphia to defend himself but was nevertheless imprisoned.
The True Perpetrators and a Corrupt Bargain
The actual perpetrators of the heist were Isaac Davis and Thomas Cunningham. Davis was a member of the Carpenters' Company, the guild that owned Carpenters' Hall, where the bank was temporarily housed. Cunningham was a porter at the bank, giving him inside access and knowledge. Tragically, Cunningham died of yellow fever just days after the heist, before he could face justice.
Isaac Davis, however, aroused suspicion when he began depositing large sums of money into several banks, including the very institution he had just robbed. Davis had also visited Lyon's shop while the blacksmith was working on the vault doors, a detail that likely contributed to the initial misdirection of the investigation. When confronted, Davis confessed to the heist. Despite his confession, Patrick Lyon remained in jail, as bank officials still harbored suspicions that Lyon might have made a copy of the vault key, even after Davis admitted his guilt.
Injustice and Release
Patrick Lyon's imprisonment was a stark example of injustice. He spent three months in Walnut Street Jail, much of it in solitary confinement, and even contracted yellow fever during his incarceration, nearly dying. His bail was set at an exorbitant $150,000, an amount almost equal to the entire sum stolen, and far beyond his means. High constable John Haines, who had initially pursued Lyon, was motivated by the $2,000 reward offered for information leading to the recovery of the stolen money.
Davis's confession eventually led to a corrupt deal brokered by his uncle, Benjamin Brannon, a powerful judge. In exchange for returning the stolen money, Davis was pardoned by the Governor of Pennsylvania without serving any jail time. He returned all but $2,000 of the stolen funds and then disappeared from Philadelphia. Even after Davis's confession in October 1798, Haines initially refused to release Lyon, though he did reduce his bail to $2,000. It wasn't until January 1799, when a grand jury refused to indict Lyon, that he was finally released, having endured months of wrongful imprisonment and suffering for a crime he did not commit. This case highlights the vulnerabilities of the early American justice system and the power dynamics at play in Philadelphia society at the turn of the 19th century.
