GW was in Alexandria, Va recruiting men. On approximately this day, he received a letter from Va. Lt. Gov. Robert Dinwiddie containing orders for an upcoming military campaign against the French. Dinwiddie knew the French would likely receive reinforcements in the spring.  As a result, he ordered GW to mount a prompt offensive against Fort Necessity in Pa., leaving a few officers behind in Alexandria to enlist additional men. Even if GW and his troops could not attack the fort directly, they were to destroy the crops and provisions in the French-held areas surrounding the fort in an attempt to weaken French control.