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A large part of American history was written from the seat of a military saddle. While the United States Army used horse-mounted fighting men from the very beginning, it was in the nineteenth century - from the decade before the Mexican War through the Indian wars - that the dashing cavalry units captured the American imagination.

The horse solders remained part of the army until 1943, when the military converted them to mechanized forces. Even so, West Point did not tear down its stables and abandon its riding-proficiency requirement until 1947. The long retention of the cavalry was due to affection for the memory of the glorious role of the cavalry in American military history.

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.