Intercepted royal letters revealing planned military reinforcements pushed Virginia toward independence

Evidence

Adding to the urgency, in April, Virginia patriots intercepted top-secret letters from London to Maryland’s royal governor expressing the king’s resolve “to pursue the most vigorous measures for reducing his rebellious subjects in North America” and his intent to send seven army regiments “to the southern colonies” to restore royal authority. — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 192

Categorization

• XREF: Concrete causal fact for the course: documented proximate trigger connecting king’s actions to colonists’ legal-political resolution. — connects to: Military events directly shifted colonial political momentum toward independence — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 185; The Royal Navy’s burning of Norfolk helped push Virginia toward independence; British arming of slaves and Indians drove southerners to embrace independence — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 123 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• The Royal Navy’s burning of Norfolk helped push Virginia toward independence #corroborates (0.85)
• British arming of slaves and Indians drove southerners to embrace independence #corroborates (0.80) — Edward J. Larson, Declaring Independence, 123