A Tribute to John R. Elting

John "Jack" Gill

Author of With Eagles to Glory: Napoleon and His German Allies in the 1809 Campaign

"Colonel John Elting's passing has left a sad void in the ranks of military historians of the Napoleonic and other eras. He is worth more fine words than I can muster, but perhaps two small observations will serve to fill in the picture of the man from one fortunate enough to have been a friend.

"I was repeatedly struck by the contrast between John Elting in print and John Elting in person. On the printed page, his style was lively and direct, indeed often blunt, the gruff talk of a flinty-eyed veteran. Though refreshing and engaging, this style could leave readers with the impression of an acerbic author, ready to strike a vulnerability in an opponent's argument with penetrating accuracy and mordant wit. In person, on the other hand, he was charming, warm, and generous, a delightful conversationalist and quietly calm even when faced with the frenetic attentions of energetic small children. If he had little interest in prolonged conversations with people he considered foolish or supercilious, he was consistently patient, gracious, and thoughtful, a 'gentleman of the old school' as he was wont to say of Proctor Jones.

"On a more personal level, I will note that I have lost with his departure the best of correspondents. John constantly astonished my wife and me with his ability to provide detailed answers to wide-ranging questions on the most recondite topics, conscientiously checking and cross-checking his sources despite the many calls on his time. In those rare cases where he did not have the answer himself, he could always recommend a friend or acquaintance to help scare up an obscure fact or verify a questionable assertion. In addition to being a source of knowledge, however, he was also an appreciative audience for abstruse information I uncovered, carefully noting the new datum in his meticulously kept file cards and frequently enlarging upon the point in his reply. This exchange was enormously rewarding and enjoyable, and it is with a small melancholy smile that I fold away the running list of questions, comments, speculations, and anecdotes I routinely kept to relay to him. "One could hardly ask for a better friend and mentor. We miss him deeply. Yet as we somberly mark his passage, another of that 'greatest generation,' we can console ourselves by the enrichment of having known him, treasuring the memory of one who touched so many."

More Elting Tribute

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