Anthony Rey was a French Jesuit academic, and U.S. Army chaplain of the Mexican War

Mexican–American War

The Mexican–American War, also known as the First American Intervention, the Mexican War, or the U.S.–Mexican War, was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848 in the wake of the 1845 U.S...

.

Life

He studied at the Jesuit college of Fribourg

Fribourg

Fribourg is the capital of the Swiss canton of Fribourg and the district of Sarine. It is located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss plateau, and is an important economic, administrative and educational center on the cultural border between German and French Switzerland...

, entered the novitiate, 12 November 1827, and subsequently taught at Fribourg and Sion in Valais. In 1840 he was sent to the United States, appointed professor of philosophy in Georgetown College, and in 1843 transferred to St. Joseph's Church in Philadelphia. He became assistant to the Jesuit provincial of Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

, pastor of Trinity Church, Georgetown, and vice-president of the college (1845).

Appointed chaplain in the U.S. Army in 1846, he ministered to the wounded and dying at the siege of Monterrey

Monterrey

Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...

; after the capture of the city, he remained with the army at Monterrey and preached to the rancheros of the neighbourhood. Against the advice of the U.S. officers, he set out for Matamoros

Matamoros, Tamaulipas

Matamoros, officially known as Heroica Matamoros, is a city in the northeastern part of Tamaulipas, in the country of Mexico. It is located on the southern bank of the Rio Grande, directly across the border from Brownsville, Texas, in the United States. Matamoros is the second largest and second...

, preaching to a congregation of Americans and Mexicans at Ceralvo. It is conjectured that he was killed by a band under the leader Antonio Canales Rosillo

Antonio Canales Rosillo

Antonio Canales Rosillo was a 19th century politician, surveyor, and military officer.- Career:...

, as his body was discovered, pierced with lance

Lance

A Lance is a pole weapon or spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior. The lance is longer, stout and heavier than an infantry spear, and unsuited for throwing, or for rapid thrusting. Lances did not have tips designed to intentionally break off or bend, unlike many throwing weapons of the...

s, a few days later.

Works

He left letters dating from November, 1846, which were printed in the "Woodstock Letters" (XVII, 149-50, 152-55, 157-59).