Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Frevet, William Alfred

FREVET, William Alfred, architect, b. in New Orleans. La., 19 Jan., 1833. He was educated in his native city and Baton Rouge, and adopted architecture as his profession. At the outbreak of the civil war he entered the Confederate army as a private in the Washington artillery from New Orleans. He was promoted from time to time, finally reaching the rank of lieutenant-colonel of engineers. He served on Kirby Smith's staff, and was also assistant chief and acting chief of the trans-Mississippi department until the surrender. In 1866-'8 he was state engineer for Louisiana, and for several years after that he had charge of the construction of the public schools of the McDonongh fund, some sixteen in number. He served as supervising architect of the U. S. government from June, 1887, until March, 1890, when he resigned. He designed the reconstruction of the state-house at Baton Rouge, and was the architect for the buildings of the state university at Pineville, La., the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, and many of the public buildings and private residences in New Orleans and elsewhere in Louisiana and several of the neighboring states.