Washington first earned public acclaim for his work as a major under Governor Dinwiddie. In 1753, the governor assigned Washington the task of traveling to the Ohio Valley for the purpose of telling the French to leave the region. Washington led several other men on a trip that required them to cross the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Allegheny Mountains and up into the area near Lake Erie to deliver the King of England’s message to the French to leave the land. During his trip, Washington also met up with an important Seneca chief whose name was Tanacharison.