Background
Alfred Rives was born on March 25, 1830, in Paris, France. He was the son of William Cabell and Judith Walker Rives. His father was an important political leader in Virginia and a power in the Confederate Congress.
6-8 Avenue Blaise Pascal, 77420 Champs-sur-Marne, France
Alfred graduated in 1854 from the Ecole des Ponts et Chausses (present-day École des Ponts ParisTech), the engineering school of France.
Charlottesville, VA, United States
Alfred studied engineering at the University of Virginia.
319 Letcher Ave, Lexington, VA 24450, United States
Alfred graduated sixth in his class at Virginia Military Institute in 1848.
Alfred Rives was born on March 25, 1830, in Paris, France. He was the son of William Cabell and Judith Walker Rives. His father was an important political leader in Virginia and a power in the Confederate Congress.
After attending Concord Academy, Alfred graduated sixth in his class at Virginia Military Institute in 1848, studied engineering at the University of Virginia, and graduated in 1854 from the Ecole des Ponts et Chausses (present-day École des Ponts ParisTech), the engineering school of France.
In the late 1850s, Rives worked for Virginia Midland Railway. He later joined the United States Corps of Engineers as a civilian and was assistant engineer of the United States Capitol and Post Office buildings. He then supervised the construction of the Cabin John Bridge over the Potomac River.
In April 1861, Rives was commissioned as a captain in the Confederate Engineering Bureau. Based in Williamsburg, he oversaw the construction of numerous earthworks and field fortifications on the Virginia Peninsula. Beginning in mid-1862, he was for a time acting chief engineer for the Confederacy. In October 1862, he was advanced to major and named assistant to the chief engineer. Promoted to lieutenant colonel in the summer of 1863, Rives frequently served as acting chief engineer in the absence of his superior, Major General Jeremy Francis Gilmer. Rives was advanced to colonel in the spring of 1864 and supervised the construction of numerous permanent and temporary bridges in Virginia before the Civil War ended in April 1865.
Postbellum, Rives worked as an engineer or executive for a number of railroads in the South. In the 1890s he was vice president of the Vera Cruz & Pacific railroad in Mexico. He consulted with the government of Colombia to erect a transisthmian railroad and a canal in Panama that would link the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
Before his death, he was Chief Engineer on the Cape Cod Canal.
Alfred was a member of the Episcopalian church.
Alfred married Sarah Catherine MacMurdo, by whom he had three children.