Blumberg Lecture: Neutrality and Loyalties in the American Revolution: The Trans-Atlantic Political Career of Henry Cruger, Jr.

Join the Rhode Island Historical Society on Thursday, May 21st, at 6pm for its inaugural Kenneth B. Blumberg Lecture, Neutrality and Loyalties in the American Revolution: The Trans-Atlantic Political Career of Henry Cruger, Jr., presented by historian Travis Glasson.

In this talk, based on his new book Nobody Men: Neutrality, Loyalties, and Family in the American Revolution (Yale University Press, 2025), Glasson will consider the many people in early America and around the Atlantic world who were in the middle rather than ardent patriots or committed loyalists during the American Revolution.  While most scholars agree that there were large numbers of such neutrals during the conflict, their stories, choices, and motivations are not well understood.  One revealing case of the complexities of wartime allegiance can be found in the career of Henry Cruger, Jr., who was born in New York but represented the city of Bristol, England in the British Parliament between 1774 and 1780.  Although one of the better-known “Americans” of the pre-Revolutionary period, Cruger is little-known today, and Glasson will discuss him as an example of those people who, for various reasons, prioritized restoring peace above either maintaining British rule or achieving American independence.

Guests will enjoy a light reception prior to the talk. The reception begins at 5:30 p.m., with the talk starting at 6 p.m. This program will be hybrid, with the option to live stream the talk via Zoom.

The Kenneth B. Blumberg Lecture is a newly endowed annual lecture at the Rhode Island Historical Society focused on RI’s history, with special emphasis on military and maritime topics to recognize Mr. Blumberg’s lifelong passions.

Travis Glasson is a historian of early America, Britain, the British Empire, and the transnational Atlantic world. He is an Associate Professor in the History Department at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and an Affiliated Faculty member of Temple’s Global Studies Program.  He completed his MA and PhD at Columbia University and is also a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and LaSalle Academy in Providence, Rhode Island. Glasson is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and has received grants and fellowships from institutions including the Whiting Foundation, the John Carter Brown Library, the Huntington Library, the Harvard University Atlantic Seminar, the American Historical Association, and Clare Hall at the University of Cambridge. His publications include the books, Nobody Men: Neutrality, Loyalties, and Family in the American Revolution (Yale University Press, 2025),  Mastering Christianity: Missionary Anglicanism and Slavery in the Atlantic World (Oxford University Press, 2012), and articles in journals including the William and Mary Quarterly and the Journal of British Studies. He and his family live in Rose Valley, Pennsylvania.

Guests can register for this free lecture here.