The First Year of the War

The First Year Of The War by Edward Alfred Pollard. A Confederate narrative of the American Civil War's first year, this work presents a South-centric account of the political and military events from 1861 to 1862. Pollard traces secession and the creation of the Confederate States, and provides a chronological survey of major episodes including the Fort Sumter bombardment, the Kansas-Nebraska and Lecompton debates, the Missouri, Kentucky, and Western Virginia campaigns, and the early battles near Richmond, such as Bull Run/Manassas and Shiloh, through to the fall of New Orleans and the Mississippi River disruptions. The author emphasizes Confederate valor and perseverance while criticizing the Union government, abolitionism, and its war conduct. Written during the conflict, the narrative mixes chronology with polemical interpretation, offering a contemporaneous, albeit partisan, historical perspective on the war’s early phase.