Up to the time of the American Revolution in 1776, most of Manhattan was still wilderness. In September of that year General George Washington had his hands full trying to turn the ragtag rebels of the Colonies into an organized force to fight off the invading British. After suffering a serious defeat in the Battle of Long Island, Washington tried to position his troops in such a way as to defend Manhattan and the City of New York, with its population of around 20,000. When the British landed at Kip's Bay, now 34th Street at the East River, the American army panicked and fled north, crossing the area where the Empire State Building would one day cast its shadow.
Incidentally, George Washington was indirectly responsible for giving the Empire State Building its name. During Washington's presidency (1789-1797), New York had the largest population of any state. Fully half the trade in the young country passed through its harbors and along its roads. In a memo to the governor of New York, Washington referred to the state as the "seat of empire." Eventually New York adopted "the Empire State" as its official nickname, and the builders of the world's tallest structure borrowed the name to bask in its reflected glory.
