Both governments attempted to use the area as a point of trade with Indian tribes in the area. Competing claims between the French and British led to the onset of the French and Indian War, or Seven Year War. Newly commissioned Washington was eager to prove himself as the Adjutant general of the militia, and Dinwiddie ordered Washington to deliver a letter to the French, which demanded they vacate the Ohio River Valley. As expected, the French refused. Washington’s first major military victory came during the Battle of Jumonville Glen in 1754. A Lieutenant Colonel at this time, Washington’s men ambushed French troops outside of present-day Unionville, Pennsylvania. During a retaliatory attack later in the year, the French captured Washington. After his subsequent release, the French and British formally declared war in