Kirk Munroe was a well-traveled writer and journalist who was born in Wisconsin, educated in Massachusetts, began his career in New York City, and finally settled in Florida. Once there, Munroe's proximity to Cuba likely influenced the point of view he employs in "Forward, March", a large part of which details the efforts of an American agent in Cuba during the war.

Kirk Munroe (September 15, 1850 – June 16, 1930) was an American writer and conservationist.

Born Charles Kirk Munroe in a log cab near Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, Munroe was the son of Charles and Susan (Hall) Munroe. His youth was spent on the frontier, after which his family moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts where he attended school until he was sixteen. He publicly dropped "Charles" from his name in 1883.

In 1876, Kirk Munroe was hired as a reporter for the New York Sun. Three years later he became the first editor of Harper's Young People magazine; he resigned in 1881. From 1879 to 1884, he was the commodore of New York Canoe club. During this time he helped found the League of American Wheelmen with Charles E. Pratt on May 31, 1880. Munroe was the Wheelmen's first Commander.