Why Were American Soldiers Called Doughboys  The exact origin of
the term doughboy in the context of American involvement in war
is unknown. But there are some clues.  The term first shows up
in the 1840s. It was in a letter written by an infantryman,
N.J.T. Dana, who participated in the Mexican-American War. He
wrote that he and other ‘doughboys’ had to wait for the
artillery to move their carriages.  Then there was an entry in a
memoir penned by Samuel Chamberlain. He was a horse-mounted
infantryman. Years later Chamberlain wrote, “Not many of any
spirit and ambition would join the ‘Doughboys’ and go afoot.”
Other possible origins of the term “doughboy” are also from the
same Mexican-American conflict. As a result of their marching
through the dry lands of northern Mexico, American infantrymen
found themselves covered with chalky dust, such that they looked
like a doughboy.  Yet another explanation is that our
infantrymen looked like adobes or mud bricks. A third source
comes from the way infantrymen cooke