 The French had focused much attention on Canada, allowing English traders to establish themselves in the Ohio Valley, but in the late 1730s the French began trying to correct this by sending expeditions into the region.The earliest eyewitness account is a report by Charles III Le Moyne, Baron de Longueuil from July 1739.A French military expedition made up of 123 French soldiers and 319 Native American warriors from Quebec, under the command of Le Moyne, was on its way to help defend New Orleans from the Chickasaw, who were attacking the city on behalf of England.