 In the American Civil War , rifle units such as the 1st United States Sharp Shooters ( in the Federal army ) similarly wore green jackets while other units wore more conspicuous colours . The first British Army unit to adopt khaki uniforms was the Corps of Guides at Peshawar , when Sir Harry Lumsden and his second in command , William Hodson introduced a " drab " uniform in 1848 . Hodson wrote that it would be more appropriate for the hot climate , and help make his troops " invisible in a land of dust " . Later they improvised by dyeing cloth locally . Other regiments in India soon adopted the khaki uniform , and by 1896 khaki drill uniform was used everywhere outside Europe ; by the Second Boer War six years later it was used throughout the British Army . 
