Beaufort National Cemetery, located in Beaufort, South Carolina, is one of six national cemeteries established in 1863 for the reinterment of Union soldiers and sailors who died in the region. The first interments were of men who died in nearby Union hospitals during the occupation of Beaufort.

Beaufort National Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

Beaufort National Cemetery
Beaufort, South Carolina
November 2018

Beaufort National Cemetery by Paul Sager, on Flickr


Between 1863 and 1968, the military transferred remains recovered from graveyards on Hilton Head and other islands in the Port Royal Sound, Charleston, eastern Florida, and Savannah. The remains of 2,800 Union prisoners of war were transferred from a Georgia cemetery. The national cemetery also contains the remains of more than 100 Confederate soldiers.

Beaufort National Cemetery


Prior to the Civil War, Beaufort was a center of culture and affluence in the American South. Immense fortunes were made through the cultivation of rice, indigo, and cotton. In 1860, the first meeting to draft the Ordinance of Secession was held in Beaufort, by which South Carolina would withdrawal from the Union. As a result, the city was an early target of Federal forces.

The film images in this post were captured using expired Fuji Superia 100 loaded to an EOS 1v with an EF 35mm f/1.4L. The digital images were captured using an EOS 5DIII and EF 50mm f/1.2L.

Beaufort National Cemetery


For the unknown dead, a block of marble (or durable stone) was used that is six inches square, and 30 inches long. The top and four inches of the sides of the upper part were finished and the number of the grave was cut into the top. Initially, this Civil War-type of headstone was furnished for the unmarked graves of eligible deceased of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican War and Indian Campaigns. The use of stone blocks for marking unknown graves was discontinued in 1903. Replacement markers and new internments of unknown remains are now marked with the same design as those furnished for the known dead.

Beaufort National Cemetery -------------------------------------------------------------- Beaufort National Cemetery


Today, more than 14,000 veterans lie at rest in the Beaufort National Cemetery.

Beaufort National Cemetery


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