Randy Steffen, who died early in 1977, while these volumes were in production, was born in Maverick County, Texas of part Sioux-Cheyenne Indian descent. He was the author of more than a thousand articles on military and western history. His paintings, drawings, and sculpture have appeared in exhibits and publications in this country, Europe, South Africa, and Australia. In 1976 he was presented the George Washington Award by the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge for his contributions to American history. At the time of his death he was a Governor of the Company of Military Historians. He was the author of United States Military Saddles (1973), also published by the University of Oklahoma Press.