As soon as Washington had settled these affairs he returned to his military duties. Governor Dinwiddie had in the meanwhile divided Virginia into four districts, and Washington, now twenty years old, was given charge of one of them. It was his duty to train the officers, as well as the men of his district, in military tactics. There was a particular reason for the new military partition of Virginia by the governor and for the zeal with which he sought to put the militia on a war footing. A quarrel had broken out between the English and French for the possession of the fertile lands stretching from the Allegheny Mountains to the Ohio River. The English governor Dinwiddie took possession of them for England and the governor of Canada for France. Both sides sought to gain over the Indian tribes that lived on the land or near it, so that on the outbreak of hostilities they might have their assistance. Both parties claimed a right to the Ohio region. It would have been hard to tell where the title really lay, but both sides were determined not to give way, but to let matters come to a crisis. This was why Governor Dinwiddie was so anxious to get the Virginia militia ready for action. The command came from England to erect two forts on the Ohio, but while the letter containing this order was crossing the ocean the French had already taken possession of part of the disputed territory. The English governor now determined to send an emissary to the French commander to make a last attempt at a peaceable adjustment, as well as to get some knowledge of the strength of the enemy and of his position.