 While Washington was returning from this expedition, Dinwiddie sent men from the Ohio Company (who were also commissioned into the provincial militia) under William Trent to begin construction of the company's fort.In February, with Tanacharison's blessing, Trent and his men began construction of the fort at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers.Legardeur's successor at Venango, Claude-Pierre Pécaudy de Contrecœur, led a force of about 500 men Canadiens and Indians (rumors reaching Trent's men put its size at 1,000) to dislodge them.