In the spring of 1864, the Confederate Army in Georgia is faced with the onrushing storm of General William T. Sherman's troops. A young sharpshooter for the South, Charlie Merrill, who has suffered many losses in his life already, must find a way to endure - and grow - if he is to survive the battles that will culminate in July at the gates of Atlanta. A Distant Flame is a historical novel about the cost of war and the running conflict that led Sherman's army to the Battle of Atlanta - and the March to the Sea.

Never before has the Atlanta campaign been rendered - in all its swift and terrible action - with such attention to history or with writing that reaches the level of art. The book stands as a testament to love, dedication, and growth, from the Civil War's fields of fire to the slow steps of old age.

A Distant Flame won the Michael Shaara Prize as the best Civil War novel published in the United States during 2004. E.L. Doctorow won the award the following year. Williams received the award in ceremonies at the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston.