The author, Major-General Sir James Edward Alexander, was a respected British Army career officer with service in the first Burma war, the Siege of Sevastopol, and who during the New Zealand Wars held a command. He was allowed free access by the military and naval authorities to all the documents at the Horse Guards and Admiralty relating to the Maori War, in order to produce a correct and authentic narrative of events. "Thus, I have introduced the name of every officer, non-commissioned officer, or private sentinel, soldier, or seaman I could discover, who is mentioned in any dispatch or report of a creditable action."