Devotion to the Adopted Country: U.S. Immigrant Volunteers in the Mexican War

Chapter 5: “Eminent and Beloved Chaplains” : Father John McElroy and Anthony Rey in the Army

Chapter 5 “Eminent and Beloved Chaplains” Fathers John McElroy and Anthony Rey in the Army  On May 19, 1846, President James K. Polk sat down for a meeting with some of his cabinet to discuss the prosecution of the war with Mexico. During the course of that conversation, Secretary of State James Buchanan arrived at the president’s office to introduce New York’s Bishop John Hughes. Polk had invited the bishop to Washington in order to secure his assistance “in disabusing the minds of the Catholic priests and people of Mexico in regard to what they most erroneously supposed to be the hostile designs of the government and people of the United States upon the religion and church property of Mexico.” The president told the men to come back at seven o’clock that evening after the conclusion of his other business.1 When Buchanan and Hughes returned, the secretary excused himself , leaving Polk alone to converse with the bishop. Polk explained his nervousness at the rumors circulating in Mexico of U.S. plans to overthrow Mexican Catholicism and rob its churches. He feared that if the bulk of the Mexican populace placed credence in the story they would make a “desperate resistance” to U.S. forces, prolonging the war into an extended bloodbath. Hughes agreed with the president on the necessity of counteracting these rumors, and Polk asked for his assistance in finding several Spanish-speaking priests to accompany the army as chaplains, along with others who would precede U.S. forces to Mexico. Both groups of clergy would reassure Mexico’s clergy of the peaceful intentions of the United States toward the Catholic religion and its property in that 91 92 Devotion to the Adopted Country country. Hughes again expressed his concurrence with Polk and even offered to visit Mexico himself if necessary, particularly because he knew the archbishop of Mexico personally. However, Hughes did not end up going to Mexico.2 After further consultation with other members of the country’s Catholic clergy, Bishop Hughes presented President Polk with the names of two potential chaplains, both Jesuits: Father John McElroy and Father Anthony Rey. In addition to Polk’s desire to pacify and reassure the Mexican clergy and populace, he and the U.S. Catholic hierarchy also tasked the men with ministering to the many Roman Catholics in the regular U.S. Army (along with those soon to arrive in the newly formed volunteer regiments). Although no federal laws or army regulations provided for chaplains in the military, Polk had no trouble getting approval of the two Jesuits from Congress. However, he had more difficulty with U.S. public opinion. Many Protestant leaders and newspaper publishers cried foul at the selection of two Catholic priests, particularly Jesuits, to minister to General Zachary Taylor’s army (even though, unbeknownst to the public, Taylor himself had requested such clergy due to dissatisfaction among his Catholic troops). Polk did find some defenders in the press, though. The New Orleans Commercial Bulletin scoffed at the complaints of some opponents, remarking, “As all religions are, by the Federal Constitution, placed upon the same footing, possessing similar rights and enjoying equal privileges, we see no cause why the selection of a Roman Catholic should be more objectionable than that of an Episcopalian, or of any other Protestant.”3 Regardless of their denomination, the Irish McElroy and the Frenchman Rey were curious choices, considering Polk’s original goals. Since the president wanted to reassure Mexican Catholics of the army’s peaceful attentions toward their religion, it seems curious that he acquiesced in the choice of two priests who did not know Spanish. However, despite this error in selection, the two Jesuits energetically carried out their second mission, ministering to Zachary Taylor’s army. McElroy and Rey represented a prime opportunity for projecting a positive image of Catholicism and its immigrant adherents. As they preached to soldiers and civilians, won converts, comforted the sick, and consoled the dying, they won many admirers both in the army and on the home front. In addition, they served their congregants in the military as advocates, particularly those in the volunteer forces. In the end, though, despite the best efforts of the Catho- 93 “Eminent and Beloved Chaplains” lic and Democratic press and of the many soldiers impressed by the Jesuits’ actions, they remained controversial figures, suffering many of the same calumnies as the immigrant soldiers...