Washington was given command of the Virginia Regiment upon Fry's death, and he led that unit into the Ohio River Valley on Dinwiddie's orders before Innes was appointed his superior. On May 28, 1754, Washington's unit, along with native Mingo allies, surprised a French unit, killing Joseph Coulon de Jumonville, the unit's commander. A large force of French soldiers then advanced to trap Washington, and on July 3, 1754, assaulted him at Fort Necessity near what is now Farmington, Pennsylvania, and forced the Virginian's surrender. Dinwiddie blamed Matthew Rowan, the acting Governor of North Carolina, for the defeat, stating that had Innes' men been assembled in a timely fashion, they could have accompanied Washington to the frontier. Nevertheless, this engagement signaled the beginning of colonial combat between the French and English, which by 1755 had erupted into open war.