The Chaplain (Jeremiah Walters) and the widow (Anna Wainwright) are fictional while General William T Sherman is the historical figure. Through the relationship between Walters and Sherman the reader sees the issues of faith and belief in God through the eyes of the believer and the skeptic. In the relationship between Jeremiah and Anna the reader sees how two people deal with the loss of a spouse and how they are drawn closer to each other. There are cameo appearances by other fictional and historical figures. As a Civil War novel A Still Small Voice is unique in its treatment of the religious aspects of this period in our history. The idea for the novel came to me after reading The Memoirs of William T.Sherman, compiled by historian, William S. McFeely. The title of the book comes from the Bible (I Kings).