Editing French and Indian War (section)

====Virginia's response====
[[File:Washington 1772.jpg|thumb|upright|In 1754, [[George Washington]] of the [[Virginia Regiment]] was dispatched to warn the French to leave Virginian territory.]]
Governor [[Robert Dinwiddie]] of Virginia was an investor in the Ohio Company, which stood to lose money if the French held their claim.<ref>O'Meara, p. 48</ref> He ordered 21-year-old Major [[George Washington]] (whose brother was another Ohio Company investor) of the [[Virginia Regiment]] to [[George Washington in the French and Indian War|warn the French to leave Virginia territory]] in October 1753.<ref name=A2K_42_3>Anderson (2000), pp. 42–43</ref> Washington left with a small party, including [[Jacob Van Braam]] as an interpreter, [[Christopher Gist]] (a company surveyor working in the area), [[Guyasuta]] (a [[Mingo]] warrior), Jeskakake (a [[Cayuga people|Cayuga]] chief),  Kaghswaghtaniunt (a [[Seneca people|Seneca]] leader),<ref>[https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/kaghswaghtaniunt_3E.html William A. Hunter, “KAGHSWAGHTANIUNT (Coswentannea, Gaghswaghtaniunt, Kachshwuchdanionty, Tohaswuchdoniunty) (Belt of Wampum, Old Belt, Le Collier Pendu, White Thunder),” in ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography,'' vol. 3, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed May 2, 2025]</ref> and Tanaghrisson. On December 12, Washington and his men reached Fort Le Boeuf.<ref>Anderson (2000), p. 43</ref><ref>Jennings, p. 63</ref>

[[Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre]] succeeded Marin as commander of the French forces after Marin died on October 29, and he invited Washington to dine with him. Over dinner, Washington presented Saint-Pierre with the letter from Dinwiddie demanding an immediate French withdrawal from the Ohio Country. Saint-Pierre said, "As to the Summons you send me to retire, I do not think myself obliged to obey it."<ref name="fowler 35">Fowler, p. 35.</ref> He told Washington that France's claim to the region was superior to that of the British, since [[René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle]] had explored the Ohio Country nearly a century earlier.<ref name="ellis 5">Ellis, ''His Excellency George Washington'', p. 5.</ref>

Washington's party left Fort Le Boeuf early on December 16 and arrived in [[Williamsburg, Virginia|Williamsburg]] on January 16, 1754. He stated in his report, "The French had swept south",<ref name="fowler 36">Fowler, p. 36.</ref> detailing the steps which they had taken to fortify the area, and their intention to fortify the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers.<ref>O'Meara, pp. 37–38.</ref>