Flags

Crossed flags with a shield between them (Morgan Chapel)

Flags offered soldiers a ready political symbol, as both Union and Confederate armies carried their different flags with them

"In Melrose Cave, there is a prevalence of engraved flags, including both the Stars and Stripes, and the Stars and Bars...five examples of the stars and stripes, although there likely were additional examples that have faded away. In each preserved instance, the flag flies to the right of the flag pole, and the stars are in the upper-left of the flag.

• One is made with seven roughly parallel lines (thereby making six spaces in between for the 13 stripes).
• Another flag, rising above the inscription of W.P. Hucus, is a flag in motion, again unfurled to the right. The flag may originally have had clear stripes, but erosion or vandalism has dulled the image.
• Another is engraved in a brown and white wall and is a rough Stars and Stripes with a short pole. Again the flag flies to the right.
• A fourth flag, made of twelve engraved horizontal lines, shows that soldiers were not always particularly careful in creating accurate images.
• A fifth flag, the poorest representation of the lot, demonstrates this further. It has a clear vertical pole with eleven scarred horizontal lines and no attempt to box off a starred corner.

The diversity of images is a reflection of the relative artistic talent of the soldiers, as well as an indication of their attitudes. Most of the flags, for example, appear to have been carved in relative haste.  An additional flag may be a “Stars and Stripes” or a “Stars and Bars,” but it has been damaged by water erosion." 

Michael Douma