Zebulon Takes On Everybody

This is one man's story of taking action when he fears colonists losing the Revolutionary War to England will suffer disastrous consequences for not doing more. Zebulon is a Quaker and his father's wainwright business is prosperous. Zeb is also a wagon jockey who gets out into the world delivering new wagons to customers. What Zeb hears, sees, and experiences drives him to do the unthinkable for a Quaker: go to war. Feeling there's no alternative, he joins the North Carolina militia in 1780 alongside two Moravian men who like him have grown up committed to peace. An adventure starts when they run off to enlist. War is coming. They are unprepared for what might transpire but don't fear it.

Once you've read this graphic novel you will understand why the British were destined to fail at Yorktown. Specifically you will know why the British army became so ragged in North Carolina. The book concentrates on the strengths of the Southern state militias and the Continental Army regulars based there. The weaknesses of the British such as their declining military might after Saratoga and their unwillingness to bail out Cornwallis (or their lack of awareness of his plight after the Battle of Kings Mountain) are topics too large for this book.

General Charles (Lord) Cornwallis and the British must have asked, “How did the state militias of Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia and the Southern Department of the Continental Army pull off one of the greatest military upsets?”. Unlike you, they didn’t have Zebulon Takes on Everybody, one man’s personal story of standing up for what he believed in, to provide answers.

Background

England shifted Revolutionary War fighting to the South in the spring of 1780 in a last ditch effort to end the war on their terms.

In South Carolina Charles Town fell after a seven week siege. Three months later Camden sadly fell in hours. Yet the march of Gen Charles Cornwallis and the British Army soon stalled.

What happened? Resistance. Patriot militias in Georgia and the Carolinas fought with confidence using unusual methods. Defeat of the Cherokee nation honed their military skills. They favored rifles and practiced irregular warfare.

Maj Gen Nathanael Greene took over command of regular forces in Charlotte Town, bringing discipline, tactics, and strategies. A former Quartermaster of the Army, he worked hard to provide for the ranks and earn their trust. Esprit de corps grew.

Patriots fighting in extraordinary large set piece battles defeated Loyalist militias and regular British troops: Kings Mountain on October 7, 1780; in 1781 the Cowpens (January 31) and Guilford Courthouse (March 15).

Cornwallis limped into Virginia after the battle of Guilford Courthouse, his better days behind him in Charlestown. He suffered the fourth major loss in a row at Yorktown in October 1781, a fatal blow to British governance in America.

Cornwallis and the British must have asked, “How did the Southern Department pull off one of the greatest military feats?”. Unlike you, they didn’t read Zebulon Takes on Everybody, one man’s personal story of standing up for what he believed in.