Edward A. Pollard was born in Virginia on February 27, 1832. He studied at the University of Virginia and the College of William and Mary. In Baltimore, Pollard was admitted to the bar. He also worked as a journalist in California and later in Virginia during the Civil War. From 1857-1961, Pollard worked as a clerk for the Judiciary Committee of the United States House of Representatives. Pollard was an ardent supporter of secession as early as 1859. During the war, he was an editor for the Richmond Examiner and was captured by the North. Pollard also wrote books advocating for the re-opening of the African Slave Trade, and about the Civil War and Reconstruction from the southern perspective. Edward Pollard died in Virginia on December 17, 1872.