he was being urged forward by dinwiddie. dinwiddie is very aggressive on this issue. and at this time, may 28th, dinwiddie is in winchester to be closer to the action and he is pushing and pushing washington. and then there was washington's famous guide -- christopher gist. who is also very aggressive. he has his plantation in the ohio watershed in french territory rather than british territory and he is always pushing, pushing, pushing washington. and then there is the famous indian, a half king, and he is pushing washington. there are all of these pressures on washington to be aggressive. now, we know with certainty that this french party that washington ambushed was in fact a diplomatic mission. we know that with certitude because we have the documents that the french officer was carrying. this was a diplomatic mission. it was not an offensive mission. they did not have pickets posted or sentries. they were entirely vulnerable. they had no idea that washington was going to take this aggressive action. as the shooting stopped, washington's indians who were with half