E. Pollard

Edward Alfred Pollard (1832–1872) was a Virginia-born journalist, editor of the Richmond Examiner, and prolific author who staunchly defended slavery, advocated Southern secession before the Civil War, and promoted Lost Cause ideology afterward. He graduated from the University of Virginia in 1849, studied law, and worked as a newspaper editor in California before returning to Virginia. His most famous work, *The Lost Cause: A New Southern History of the War of the Confederates* (1866), originated the 'Lost Cause' phrase and justified the Confederacy's actions while opposing Reconstruction.