Doughboy
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Doughboy is an obsolete slang term for a United States Army infantryman, best known from its use in World War I, although it dates back to the Mexican–American War of 1846–48.[1][2]
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[edit] Etymology
The origin of the term is unclear. The most often cited explanation is that it arose during the Mexican–American War, after observers noticed U.S. infantry forces were constantly covered with chalky dust from marching through the dry terrain of northern Mexico, giving the men the appearance of unbaked dough.[3] Another suggestion is that doughboys were so named because of their method of cooking field rations of the 1840s and 1850s, usually doughy flour and rice concoctions baked in the ashes of a camp fire, although this does not explain why only infantryman received the appellation.[3] Still another explanation involves pipe clay, a substance with the appearance of dough used by pre-Civil War soldiers to clean their white garrison belts.
What is known with certainty is that the term doughboy - as applied to infantry soldiers of the United States Army - appears in authenticated written wartime accounts as well as postwar memoirs of the Mexican–American War of 1846–47.[3][4][5]
In general usage, "doughboy" became most popular during World War I with the formation and deployment of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) led by General John J. Pershing. U.S. Army enlisted soldiers and non-commissioned officers in the AEF frequently referred to themselves by the name, and the term was widely used in contemporary media, both in the United States and in Europe. At first, the term was applied only to U.S. infantry or foot soldiers, but soon extended to the entire American contingent, to the chagrin of the Marines. The term was used sparingly during World War II, gradually replaced by the appellations "G.I.", "Troop", or "Dogface", but was still used in popular songs of the day, as in the 1942 song "Johnny Doughboy found a Rose in Ireland".[6] It dropped out of popular use soon after World War II.[7]
[edit] See also
- Dogface
- False etymology
- Frank Buckles - last Doughboy from World War I
- Poilu - equivalent term for French soldiers of World War I
- Tommy Atkins - equivalent term for British soldiers of World War I
[edit] References
- ^ Dana, Napoleon Jackson Tecumseh (Lt), Monterrey Is Ours! The Mexican War Letters of Lieutenant N.J.T. Dana, 1845-1847, University of Kentucky Press (1990), ISBN 0813117038, 9780813117034: Lt. Dana, an infantryman in the Mexican-American War, wrote in a letter posted during the campaign, "We 'doughboys' had to wait for the artillery to get their carriages over."
- ^ Chamberlain, Samuel, My Confessions: Recollections of a Rogue, Austin: Texas State Historical Association (1965): Chamberlain, a horse-mounted Dragoon in the Mexican-American War, wrote in his memoirs years later, "No man of any spirit and ambition would join the 'Doughboys' and go afoot."
- ^ a b c Hanlon, Michael E., The Origins of Doughboy, 16 June 2003, Origin of Term Doughboy
- ^ Dana, Napoleon Jackson Tecumseh (Lt), Monterrey Is Ours! The Mexican War Letters of Lieutenant N.J.T. Dana, 1845-1847, University of Kentucky Press (1990), ISBN 0813117038, 9780813117034
- ^ Chamberlain, Samuel, My Confessions: Recollections of a Rogue, Austin: Texas State Historical Association (1965)
- ^ The Dogface Soldier: Times were changing, though; that same year, two infantry soldiers wrote The Dogface Soldier, later officially adopted as the song of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division.
- ^ George, John B. (Lt. Col), Shots Fired In Anger, Samworth Press (1948), pp. xi, xii, 21: Lt. John George, an Army officer writing a World War II autobiographical postwar combat memoir in May of 1947, freely used the term to describe himself and his fellow U.S. Army infantrymen.
- Faulstich, Edith. M. "The Siberian Sojourn" Yonkers, N.Y. (1972-1977)
