Beaufort National Cemetery
Beaufort National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located in Beaufort County, in the city of Beaufort, South Carolina. Managed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses , and as of 2014, had over 19,000 interments. History. The original interments in the cemetery were men who died in nearby Union hospitals during the occupation of the area early in the Civil War, mainly in 1861, following the Battle of Port Royal. Battlefield casualties from around the area were also reinterred in the cemetery, including over 100 Confederate soldiers. It became a National Cemetery with  the National Cemetery Act by Abraham Lincoln in 1863. The remains of 27 Union prisoners of war were reinterred from Blackshear Prison following the war. Beaufort National Cemetery now has interments from every major American conflict, including the Spanish–American War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Gulf War. In 1987, the remains of nineteen Union soldiers of the all black Massachusetts 55th Volunteer Infantry were discovered on Folly Island, South Carolina. The Massachusetts 55th had been stationed on Folly Island from late 1863 to early 1864 and was a sister unit to the better-known Massachusetts 54th  Volunteer Infantry, featured in the film "Glory". On May 29, 1989, these soldiers were reinterred in the Beaufort National Cemetery with full military honors. Cast members from the film served as the honor guard at the ceremony. Beaufort National Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.