October 31, 1753

George Washington Sent to Demand French Withdrawal from Ohio Territory

Acting on orders from London, Virginia's lieutenant governor, Robert Dinwiddie, sends 21-year-old George Washington to the Ohio Valley to warn the French out of British territory. After a round trip of 1,000 miles, Washington arrives back in Williamsburg in January 1754. His written report—The Journal of Major George Washington—is printed in Williamsburg and London and in a number of colonial newspapers.