First National Bank of Washington, DC (Charter 26)

The First National Bank of Washington and banking house of Jay Cooke & Co., erected 1863-64. John McArthur of Philadelphia was the architect and John Rice was the builder. Engraving prepared for the Bankers' Magazine and Statistical Register, New York, 1864.

First National Bank of Washington, DC (Chartered 1863 - Receivership 1873)

Town History

An advertisement from September 1861 depicting a $100 Treasury Note of the 7-30 bond. Although notes were not yet available, Jay Cooke & Co. was accepting subscriptions at its Philadelphia banking house. While the names in the facsimile printed by the Philadelphia Inquirer were fictitious, Major General George B. McClellan was entered representing the Register of the Treasury and Jay Cooke & Co. was entered as representing the Treasurer of the United States. The note was described for the public as was the anti-photographic nature of the patented green colored ink used by the American Bank Note Company.

Washington, D.C. during the American Civil War (1861–1865), was the center of the Union war effort, which rapidly turned it from a small city into a major capital with full civic infrastructure and strong defenses.

The shock of the Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861, with demoralized troops wandering the streets of the capital, caused President Abraham Lincoln to order extensive fortifications and a large garrison. That required an influx of troops, military suppliers and building contractors, which would set up a new demand for accommodation, including military hospitals. The abolition of slavery in Washington in 1862 also attracted many freedmen to the city. Except for one attempted invasion by Confederate cavalry leader Jubal Early in 1864, the capital remained impregnable.

Despite being the nation's capital city, Washington remained a small city that was virtually deserted during the torrid summertime until the outbreak of the Civil War. In February 1861, the Peace Congress, a last-ditch attempt by delegates from 21 of the 34 states to avert what many saw as the impending civil war, met in the city's Willard Hotel. The strenuous effort failed, and the war started in April 1861.

Washington had 29 National Banks chartered during the Bank Note Era, and 25 of those banks issued National Bank Notes.

Bank History

U.S. Army Paymaster check dated July 8, 1865, drawn on the First National Bank of Washington, D.C., one of the official U.S. Government Depositories. Courtesy of Heritage Auctions, www.ha.com

• Chartered July 16, 1863
• Succeeded Jay Cooke & Co. (founded by)
• Receivership September 19, 1873
• Huntoon, Peter and Sundman, David, "The First National Bank of Washington and the First National Bank Note," Encyclopedia of U.S. National Bank Notes, Chapter O1.

Official Bank Title

1: The First National Bank of Washington, DC

Bank Note Types Issued

Original series $5 bank note with pen signatures of W.S. Huntington, Cashier and H.D. Cooke, President. This was the first national bank note issued and carries SN 1 and a red Treasury SN 9. Courtesy of Jess Lipka

A total of $730,200 in National Bank Notes was issued by this bank between 1863 and 1873. This consisted of a total of 86,990 notes (86,990 large size and No small size notes).

This bank issued the following Types and Denominations of bank notes:

Series/Type	Sheet/Denoms	Serial#s	Sheet Comments
Original Series	3x1-2	1 - 54	Treasury sheet serial numbering for the Original Series 1-1-1-2 combination was arbitrarily started at red serial number 9, whereas the bank sheet serials were begun with 1
Original Series	4x5	1 - 19155	Treasury sheet serial numbering for the Original Series 5-5-5-5 combination was arbitrarily started at red serial number 9, whereas the bank sheet serials were begun with 1
Original Series	2x10-2x20	1 - 1728	Treasury sheet serial numbering for the Original Series 10-10-20-20 combination was arbitrarily started at red serial number 15, whereas the bank sheet serials were begun with 1
Original Series	50-100	1 - 1621	Treasury sheet serial numbering for the Original Series 10-10-20-20 combination was arbitrarily started at red serial number 64, whereas the bank sheet serials were begun with 1

Bank Presidents and Cashiers

Bank Presidents and Cashiers during the National Bank Note Era (1863 - 1873):

Presidents:

• Henry David Cooke, 1863-1872

Cashiers:

• William Spooner Huntington Sr., 1863-1871
• Henry C. Swain, 1872-1872

Other Known Bank Note Signers

• No other known bank note signers for this bank

Bank Note History Links

• First National Bank of Washington, DC History (NB Lookup)
• District of Columbia Bank Note History (BNH Wiki)

Sources

• Washington, DC, on Wikipedia
• Don C. Kelly, National Bank Notes, A Guide with Prices. 6th Edition (Oxford, OH: The Paper Money Institute, 2008).
• Dean Oakes and John Hickman, Standard Catalog of National Bank Notes. 2nd Edition (Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 1990).
• Banks & Bankers Historical Database (1782-1935), https://spmc.org/bank-note-history-project