---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Shiloh, but it sorely disappointed the…"
description: "\"“Shiloh, but it sorely disappointed the Century editors. Written in Grant’s pithy style, it was arid and compact and read like a bloodless report. John..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/ron-chernow-1189_every-night_shiloh-but-it-sorely-disappointed-the-ce_331080.jpg"
---

#  Shiloh, but it sorely disappointed the Century editors…

![“Shiloh, but it sorely disappointed the Century editors. Written in Grant’s pithy style, it was arid and compact and read like a bloodless report. Johnson hurried over to Long Branch for a pep talk with his new writer. A gifted editor, he drew Grant into personal reminiscences about Shiloh and made…” quote by Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/ron-chernow-1189_every-night_shiloh-but-it-sorely-disappointed-the-ce_331080.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/ron-chernow-1189_every-night_shiloh-but-it-sorely-disappointed-the-ce_331080.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/ron-chernow-1189_every-night_shiloh-but-it-sorely-disappointed-the-ce_331080.jpg)

> ““Shiloh, but it sorely disappointed the Century editors. Written in Grant’s pithy style, it was arid and compact and read like a bloodless report. Johnson hurried over to Long Branch for a pep talk with his new writer. A gifted editor, he drew Grant into personal reminiscences about Shiloh and made him see the difference between a dry recitation and one enlivened by personal impressions. This came as a revelation to Grant, who was an apt pupil and promised to start anew. As he did so, he felt a spurt of liberating energy. “Why, I am positively enjoying the work,” he told Johnson. “I am keeping at it every night and day, and Sundays.” Under Johnson’s tutelage, Grant discovered new dimensions to his writing,””

[Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Grant learned that personal insight transforms dry historical narrative into vivid storytelling.

**In simple terms:** Personal insight makes history lively.

Key Takeaway

Add personal perspective to writing.

Themes

history writing mentorship creativity

Mood

reflective inspired

Type

educational inspirational

When to use this quote

- Writing biographies
- teaching writers
- editing drafts
- crafting narratives

Key Concepts

Narrative voice historical analysis authorial growth

Questions to Reflect On

- How can personal experience enhance historical truth?
- When does personal voice overwhelm objectivity?

A Different Perspective

Personal anecdotes may bias factual accuracy.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Every night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-night/) [Pep talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pep-talk/) [Shiloh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shiloh/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [Shiloh had as many casualties as Waterloo, and yet there were another 20 Waterloos to come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-catton/shiloh-had-as-many-casualties-as-waterloo-and-yet-there-were-another/)

[Bruce Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-catton/)

> [My second book, Follow Me Down had some success, got good critical notices, went into a second printing and things like that, but Shiloh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-foote/my-second-book-follow-me-down-had-some-success-got-good-critical/)

[Shelby Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-foote/)

> [Shiloh is a wonderfully dramatic battle. The leader of one side is killed, and the other one is going on to glory, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-foote/shiloh-is-a-wonderfully-dramatic-battle-the-leader-of-one-side-is/)

[Shelby Foote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-foote/)

> [“Shiloh had become far too used to it; for all that she paid him no mind, the moment his sharp fangs pierced the skin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-white/shiloh-had-become-far-too-used-to-it-for-all-that-she-paid-him-no/)

[Elaine White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-white/)

> [France was a land, England was a people, but America, having about it still that quality of the idea, was harder to utter -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/france-was-a-land-england-was-a-people-but-america-having-about-it/)

[F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/)

> [And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/and-jeroboam-s-wife-did-so-and-arose-and-went-to-shiloh-and-came-to/)

[Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/)

> [“~ A taste of Heaven on earth!" "THE ENCHANTING LEGENDS OF SHILOH MANSION:The Young King!" ~”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborrah-k-ogans/a-taste-of-heaven-on-earth-the-enchanting-legends-of-shiloh-mansion/)

DeBorrah K. Ogans

> [“If I think too hard about it, I get lost...He should probably be here instead of me. But the thing is--I'm really glad to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowell-rainbow/if-i-think-too-hard-about-it-i-get-lost-he-should-probably-be-here/)

ROWELL RAINBOW

> [“...if he were in his right mind. Shiloh knew that his father had taken a left turn at some point, however, and there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrianna-scovill/if-he-were-in-his-right-mind-shiloh-knew-that-his-father-had-taken-a/)

Adrianna Scovill

> […and I’m thinking how nothing is as simple as you guess-not right or wrong, not Judd Travers, not even me or this dog I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-reynolds-naylor/and-i-m-thinking-how-nothing-is-as-simple-as-you-guess-not-right-or/)

[Phyllis Reynolds Naylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-reynolds-naylor/)

> [The industrial way of life leads to the industrial way of death. From Shiloh to Dachau, from Antietam to Stalingrad, from Hiroshima to Vietnam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/the-industrial-way-of-life-leads-to-the-industrial-way-of-death-from/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [“The door wasn’t closing. Shiloh’s spirit opened up as she considered the possibilities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-hawkins-adams/the-door-wasn-t-closing-shiloh-s-spirit-opened-up-as-she-considered/)

[Stacy Hawkins Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-hawkins-adams/)

> [“The ground had opened up and spit out hell, Nell thought, and the detritus was Shiloh.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelsey-brickl/the-ground-had-opened-up-and-spit-out-hell-nell-thought-and-the/)

[Kelsey Brickl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelsey-brickl/)

> [Foemen at morn, but friends at eve Fame or country least their care: (What like a bullet can undeceive!) But now they lie low,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/foemen-at-morn-but-friends-at-eve-fame-or-country-least-their-care/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Angelina Jolie’s older brother James Haven, the one she made out with, has a license plate on his SUV that reads Shiloh. Maybe it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/angelina-jolie-s-older-brother-james-haven-the-one-she-made-out-with/)

[Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/)

## More by Ron Chernow

> [“In other words, Julia still believed in the beneficial effects of tobacco long after her husband had likely died from it. Even grimacing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/in-other-words-julia-still-believed-in-the-beneficial-effects-of/)

[Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/)

> [“Right before his inauguration, he received a Quaker delegation and asked them to nominate Indian agents from their members. “If you can make Quakers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/right-before-his-inauguration-he-received-a-quaker-delegation-and/)

[Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/)

> [“Grant roomed with Fred Dent, who also singled out Grant as “the clearest headed young man I ever saw . . . He always wanted to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/grant-roomed-with-fred-dent-who-also-singled-out-grant-as-the/)

[Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/)

> [The richly cadenced prose is hypnotic, the research prodigious, the analysis acute, the mood spellbinding, and the cast of characters mythic in scale. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/the-richly-cadenced-prose-is-hypnotic-the-research-prodigious-the/)

[Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/)

> [“Hamilton has often been extolled as the exponent of a rational foreign policy based on cool calculations of national self-interest. But his April 14…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/hamilton-has-often-been-extolled-as-the-exponent-of-a-rational/)

[Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/)

> [“While the folks at home embraced him as an improbable hero, Washington was denigrated in England as a reckless young warrior and in France…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/while-the-folks-at-home-embraced-him-as-an-improbable-hero-washington/)

[Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/)

> [“the immorality of slavery became patently clear that spring. He had acquired from Colonel Dent the mulatto slave named William Jones who had worked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/the-immorality-of-slavery-became-patently-clear-that-spring-he-had/)

[Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/)

> [“As his life steadily unraveled, he pawned his gold watch and chain for $20 on December 23, 1857, to purchase Christmas presents for his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/as-his-life-steadily-unraveled-he-pawned-his-gold-watch-and-chain-for/)

[Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/)

> [“Grant had overwhelmingly won the electoral vote, and had garnered the largest popular majority of the century, nearly 56 percent of the vote, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/grant-had-overwhelmingly-won-the-electoral-vote-and-had-garnered-the/)

[Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/)

> [“The chief quartermaster on the West Coast, Robert Allen, an old friend of Grant’s, learned he was holed up in a cheap miner’s hotel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/the-chief-quartermaster-on-the-west-coast-robert-allen-an-old-friend/)

[Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/)

> [“Returning to his Manhattan town house on Christmas Eve, Grant, sixty-one, pivoted to hand the driver a holiday tip when he slipped on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/returning-to-his-manhattan-town-house-on-christmas-eve-grant-sixty/)

[Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/)

> [“When he bet Julia that she wouldn’t dare to descend into the mine, located seventeen hundred feet below, it roused her fighting spirit and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/when-he-bet-julia-that-she-wouldn-t-dare-to-descend-into-the-mine/)

[Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/)

> [“Consequential to the election outcome were the many private contacts in the capital between southern Democrats and Hayes’s northern Republican supporters. At Wormley’s Hotel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/consequential-to-the-election-outcome-were-the-many-private-contacts/)

[Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/)

> [“The trial wasn’t the finest hour of American justice as the treatment of the prisoners seemed medieval in its barbarism. Almost all of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/the-trial-wasn-t-the-finest-hour-of-american-justice-as-the-treatment/)

[Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/)

> [“he warned that progressive accumulation of debt “is perhaps the NATURAL DISEASE of all Governments. And it is not easy to conceive anything more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/he-warned-that-progressive-accumulation-of-debt-is-perhaps-the/)

[Ron Chernow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/)

[Explore all 276 Ron Chernow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/)

## More Every night quotes

> [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/)

Alan W. Powers

> [“You can date every girl in town as far as I’m concerned. I hate you. I pray every night that you’ll fall victim to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrington/you-can-date-every-girl-in-town-as-far-as-i-m-concerned-i-hate-you-i/)

[Kim Harrington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrington/)

> [“Maybe I'd absorbed the capacity to hurt someone by listening to my parents every night, who were under the impression that turning the volume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/maybe-i-d-absorbed-the-capacity-to-hurt-someone-by-listening-to-my/)

[Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/)

> [I'm always looking at new ways to tell a joke so that it doesn't get stale while working on new jokes every night or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-burr/i-m-always-looking-at-new-ways-to-tell-a-joke-so-that-it-doesn-t-get/)

[Bill Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-burr/)

> [“When at last we arrived in Mannheim, I found that my apartment had been rented to a family whose young son was an amputee.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-suppresed-i-rise/when-at-last-we-arrived-in-mannheim-i-found-that-my-apartment-had/)

[Captain Hank Bracker, "Suppresed I Rise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/captain-hank-bracker-suppresed-i-rise/)

> [I don't know if I've come of age, but I'm certainly older now. I feel shrunken, as if there's a tiny ancient Oliver Tate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dunthorne/i-don-t-know-if-i-ve-come-of-age-but-i-m-certainly-older-now-i-feel/)

[Joe Dunthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dunthorne/)

> [“It suddenly seemed to Laurel that all the absences in her own life, every loss and sadness, every nightmare in the dark, every unexplained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/it-suddenly-seemed-to-laurel-that-all-the-absences-in-her-own-life/)

[Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/)

> [“Her silent singing wrapped around the story she was telling herself, which she extended further every night on the deck. (Averill often told herself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/her-silent-singing-wrapped-around-the-story-she-was-telling-herself/)

[Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/)

> [“I have heard several people justify working long hours and getting home from work late it night by saying things like, “I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-willey/i-have-heard-several-people-justify-working-long-hours-and-getting/)

[Daniel Willey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-willey/)

> [Every night I go to sleep smiling, even when I have a bad day. I'm just thankful that God allowed me to live it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-night-i-go-to-sleep-smiling-even-when-i-have-a-bad-day-i-m-just/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“I'm going to lay it out straight for you here, Carson. And the reason that I'm going to do that is because I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-sheridan/i-m-going-to-lay-it-out-straight-for-you-here-carson-and-the-reason/)

[Mia Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-sheridan/)

> [I do remember what I said. The promise. To protect her. If I'd done that ... even if I didn't make it, you wouldn't've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/i-do-remember-what-i-said-the-promise-to-protect-her-if-i-d-done-that/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [“It’s a red sky every night with Cosmic Ordering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-richards/it-s-a-red-sky-every-night-with-cosmic-ordering/)

[Stephen Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-richards/)

> [“What does it say?" asked my lord. "It says, 'Good-night, God keep you all the night!'--just what she used to say when we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hodgson-burnett/what-does-it-say-asked-my-lord-it-says-good-night-god-keep-you-all/)

[Frances Hodgson Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hodgson-burnett/)

> [“Oh, my god, I don't know. What do you want?" "You," he said, his voice lowering an octave. "I want you, Dutch, body and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/oh-my-god-i-don-t-know-what-do-you-want-you-he-said-his-voice/)

[Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/)

[Browse all 2,605 Every night quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-night/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Shiloh, but it sorely disappointed the Century editors. Written in Grant’s pithy style, it was arid and compact and read like a bloodless report. Johnson hurried over to Long Branch for a pep talk with his new writer. A gifted editor, he drew Grant into personal reminiscences about Shiloh and made him see the difference between a dry recitation and one enlivened by personal impressions. This came as a revelation to Grant, who was an apt pupil and promised to start anew. As he did so, he felt a spurt of liberating energy. “Why, I am positively enjoying the work,” he told Johnson. “I am keeping at it every night and day, and Sundays.” Under Johnson’s tutelage, Grant discovered new dimensions to his writing,”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ron Chernow"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/shiloh-but-it-sorely-disappointed-the-century-editors-written-in/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Every night"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/shiloh-but-it-sorely-disappointed-the-century-editors-written-in/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/ron-chernow-1189_every-night_shiloh-but-it-sorely-disappointed-the-ce_331080.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/ron-chernow-1189_every-night_shiloh-but-it-sorely-disappointed-the-ce_331080.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/ron-chernow-1189_every-night_shiloh-but-it-sorely-disappointed-the-ce_331080.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Shiloh, but it sorely disappointed the Century editors. Written in Grant’s pithy style, it was arid and…” — Ron Chernow",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Ron Chernow",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-chernow/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Shiloh, but it sorely disappointed the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/shiloh-but-it-sorely-disappointed-the-century-editors-written-in/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-chernow/shiloh-but-it-sorely-disappointed-the-century-editors-written-in/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
