From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)
Rout, Richard
(born: 1861 - died: 1905) Richard Rout was born around 1861 in Stanford, KY, the son of Judy [or Juda] Rout. On December 8, 1891 he re-enlisted in the U.S. Army in Cincinnati, OH [source: U.S. Army Register of Enlistments]. He had previously enlisted in November 1886, serving with the 25th Infantry. He enlisted again December 12, 1896 at Ft. Harrison, MT. Rout was one of the 20 soldiers in Company H, 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps. On June, 14, 1897 the men rode bicycles 1,900 miles from Ft. Missoula, MT to St. Louis, MO, arriving July 24. They were testing the bicycles as a mode of transportation for troops.According to an article in the National Baptist World newspaper, the bicycle had been considered a failure for Army purposes in 1894, based on tests in Germany, France, and Austria. But in 1897 Lt. James A. Moss was given the mission of leading 20 soldiers on the 1,900 mile trip; Lt. Moss's final report would be a factor as to whether the U.S. Army would form a Bicycle Corp or not. Richard Rout and his fellow soldiers completed the journey, but a bicycle corp was not formed.
Rout was still in the Army in 1898, serving in Company H, 25th Infantry and stationed in Ft. Missoula, according to a newspaper article; he had written a letter to his sister, Annie Rout Myers Saulter in Stanford, KY, saying that he was getting ready to go to war and his company would be marching to Dry Tortugas [source: see "Richard Rout" in article "Added Local," Semi-Weekly Interior Journal, 4/1/1898, p. 2, column 2]. But the orders were changed and the unit went to Cuba.
Richard Rout was discharged from the Army June 17, 1899 at Fort Huachuca in Arizona, and he was noted as an excellent corporal [source: U.S. Army Register of Enlistments, 1896, p. 43].
According to his death certificate #283, Rout was born in 1861. He had been employed as a porter prior to his death from hepatitis at St. Mary's Hospital in Tucson, AZ on September 20, 1905. He was buried in the Citizens Cemetery in Prescott, AZ. [From 1864-1933, both veterans and civilians were buried in Citizens Cemetery, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.]
In addition to his sister, Annie Rout Myers Saulter (1865-1911), Richard Rout's other siblings were Jessie Rout Myers (1859-1915) and Susan Rout (b. 1853) [sources: 1870 U.S. Federal Census and Kentucky Death Certificates].
For more see Richard Rout in On the Trail of the Buffalo Soldier II, by I. Schubert and F. N. Schubert; "Pvt. Richard Rout," half-way down the page at Iron Riders: The Story of the 25th Infantry Rregiment Bicycle Corps; an overview of the 25th Bicycle Corps; "25th Infantry Regiment Bicycle Corps" the daily account on pp. 28-38 in Black Warriors,, by A. E. Williams; The Bicycle Corps: America's Black Army on Wheels, a PBS Home Video; and "A failure: the bicycle not a success for Army purposes - test made in Europe," National Baptist World, 11/9/1894, p. 3.
