他14岁时在桑德赫斯特的皇家军事学院接受了六个月的教育,并于1845年5月16日成为擲彈兵衛隊少尉。在长达32年的军事生涯中,他虽然不是总在前线,但也参加过阿尔马河战役等重大行动。1851年,他开始负责试验和报告军队滑膛步枪性能,1852年到伍尔维奇指导使用新型米尼步枪(Minié rifle)。随后,他主要负责在肯特郡建立了一所火枪学校,在那里授课,修订了《步枪教学》(Instruction of Musketry)手册,1858 年又发表了一篇主张改进步枪的论文[11][12]。1850年8月2日,他升为上尉,在克里米亚战争期间升为中校,1858年因克里米亚战争期间的表现获得梅吉迪勋章,1867年1月22日升为上校,1877年升为少将[13]。他于1882年退休,同时获中将军衔。
随着1882年《古迹保护法》的通过,皮特·里弗斯成为第一位古迹调查员(Inspector of Ancient Monuments)。这一职位由约翰·拉伯克创建,后者是皮特·里弗斯的女婿。在皮特·里弗斯的建议下,肯特郡的Kit's Coty House和Little Kit's Coty House是首批受国家保护的英国古迹。[16]
^ 2.02.12.2Hicks, Dan. Hicks, Dan; Stevenson, Alice , 编. World Archaeology at the Pitt Rivers Museum: a characterization. Oxford: Archaeopress. 2013: 1–15. It was founded in 1884 with a donation of a collection of c.22,092 archaeological and ethnological objects, which had been assembled between c.1851 and the early 1880s by General Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers (1827–1900) – who was known until 1880 simply as Augustus Henry Lane Fox....The PRM founding collection was donated to the University four years after Pitt-Rivers had inherited a large estate (and his new surname): an event that transformed his life.
^Bowden, Mark. Pitt Rivers. The life and Archaeological work of Lieutenant General Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers. Journal of Field Archaeology 21 (Cambridge University). 1991: 249–251. ISBN 0-521-400775. JSTOR 529871. doi:10.2307/529871.
Bowden, Mark (1991) Pitt Rivers: The life and archaeological work of Lieutenant-General Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers. Cambridge University Press. ISBN0-521-40077-5
Hicks, Dan. Hicks, Dan; Stevenson, Alice , 编. Characterizing the World Archaeology Collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum. World Archaeology at the Pitt Rivers Museum: A Characterization. 2013. doi:10.2307/j.ctv17db2mz.7.
Penniman, T.K. General Pitt Rivers Man, Vol. 46, (July – August 1946), pp. 73–74. Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. Article Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2793146 (页面存档备份,存于互联网档案馆)
Thompson, M.W. (1977) General Pitt Rivers: Evolution and archaeology in the nineteenth century. Bradford-on-Avon : Moonraker Press. ISBN0-239-00162-1