In the days when smooth-bore muskets were the arms of infantry, the range of such weapons was very short and the opposing battle lines approached each other so closely that the figures of the men were plainly visible whatever the color of their clothing might be. Histories of the wars of a century ago tell of the colonels’ commands to “wait till you see the whites of their eyes before you fire” and “hold your fire until you can count their coat buttons.”
Under such circumstances striking and distinctive uniforms of gaudy colors bedecked with gold and silver braid and bright buttons were no detriment, but with the great increase in the range and accuracy of modern rifles it has become necessary to render the men on the battle line as inconspicuous as possible, and, as a result, in all of the great armies of the world dull colored uniforms of neutral shade have replaced the brilliant reds, blues, yellows and greens of former times, and brass buttons have given way to buttons of bronze, leather or iron, the bright hued uniforms with their corresponding brass buttons and braid being kept for full dress and peace time parade.
In the United States Army and Marine Corps the prevalent color for the field service uniforms is some shade of the dull brown commonly known as “khaki,” and the bright gilt and silver buttons, corps and regimental devices and numbers and belt buckles have been replaced to a great extent by dull bronze buttons and ornaments, insignia of rank for officers only being still made of silver and gold.
“Khaki” (pronounced kar-key, with the accent on the second syllable) is an East Indian word meaning “dust color” or “earth color.” In the dry season in India the fields and vegetation turn brown and the roads are heavy with dust which, carried by the winds, soon covers the foliage of trees and shrubbery, so that the whole landscape presents a somber aspect in one brown, dust-colored hue.
In the earlier days of the British occupation of India the British and loyal Indian troops wore white cotton or duck uniforms in the hot weather of the dry season, but these stood out so plainly against the prevailing dust color of the roads and surrounding country as to make their wearers distinct targets for the bush-whacking snipers of the enemy tribesmen. Learning from bitter experience the necessity for making themselves less conspicuous, the soldiers dipped their uniforms in muddy pools and streams to give them the same color as the background against which they must appear.
This expedient showed good results in reducing the casualty lists, and dust-colored or “khaki” uniforms gradually replaced the white uniforms with bright colored trimmings for summer service, and later for the same reasons the same or a similar color was also adopted for the winter field or “fighting” uniforms of the British Army.
Grim necessity gradually overcame the natural conservatism of the military mind and the sentimental traditions that hung around the colors of the uniforms that the troops had worn in famous campaigns, until all of the great nations have now adopted “khaki” or other dull colored uniforms for their troops in the field. This has taken away from the battlefield much of its former picturesqueness and pomp; gone from the battlefield is the “thin red line” of English poetry and song, the red and blue of the French infantry, the gray and white of the Austrians, and the blue, white and gold of the German Uhlans, while the “American Boys in Blue” no longer charge with bayonets glittering in the sun beneath the Stars and Stripes. To paraphrase a well-known quotation, “It is not magnificent but it is war.”
In the naval services of the world the adoption of a regulation uniform dress for officers and enlisted men came at a much later date than in the armies, although the marines, being essentially “sea soldiers,” followed the uniform regulations of the shore forces to a great extent and were put in uniform much earlier than the sailors of the ships’ crews.
In the British Navy of Nelson’s time the officers wore uniforms following certain prescribed styles, and the rank of the officer was marked by insignia upon the epaulets and by sleeve and cuff decorations as well, but the sailors who set and worked the sails and manned the guns had no prescribed dress. It was the custom of those days for each commodore and captain to prescribe a uniform dress for the crew of his “barge” or “gig” (the “barge” being the special small boat propelled by oars in which the admiral or commodore went from ship to shore and vice versa, and the “gig” being the name for a similar boat used especially by the captain of the ship).
These uniforms for the special boats’ crews were often fanciful in design and gay in color schemes and served to enliven the landing places at many a busy port.