In 1876, Pollard was elected to one term in the United States House of Representatives, and he served in the 45th Congress, March 4, 1877 to March 3, 1879. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1878. In 1879, Pollard moved to St. Louis, where he continued the practice of law. He died in St. Louis on February 24, 1904 and was interred at Edgewood Cemetery in Chillicothe.
After college, Pollard taught school in Kentucky, Iowa, and Wisconsin, then studied law at the Milwaukee firm of Walter S. Carter and William G. Whipple.[2] He attained admitted to the bar in 1861, but deferred the start of a law practice so he could join the Union Army for the American Civil War.[2]
After leaving the army, Pollard completed his legal training with a six-month term at Albany Law School.[2] He then moved to Chillicothe, Missouri, where he began to practice law in partnership with Joel Funk Asper.[2] After Asper was elected to Congress, Pollard practiced in partnership with Judge Elbridge J. Broaddus.[2] A Republican, Pollard was appointed county attorney of Livingston County in 1874.[1] In 1876, he was elected Chillicothe's mayor, and he served until 1877.[1]
Pollard moved to St. Louis in 1879, and he continued to practice law, first in partnership with Seneca N. Taylor, and later as a solo practitioner.[2] Pollard was a founder of the New England Society of St. Louis, and served as its first president.[1] He died in St. Louis on February 24, 1904.[1] Pollard was buried at Edgewood Cemetery in Chillicothe.[3]