Beaufort National Cemetery

Beaufort National Cemetery is a VA national cemetery in Beaufort, South Carolina. VA lists it as open for burials. Burial is free for eligible veterans, their spouses and dependent children.

Source: National Cemetery Administration (cem.va.gov), retrieved May 2026

History of Beaufort National Cemetery

Beaufort National Cemetery is located in Beaufort County on Port Royal Island within the city limits of Beaufort, SC. The cemetery best distinguished by a landscape plan in which the burial sections are arranged in the shape of a half-circle with roads arranged like the spokes of a wheel.

Although local Native Americans had inhabited the region for thousands of years, it was not until 1514 that Beaufort County became the site of the second landing of Europeans on the North American continent. After an extended period of settlement, in 1587 the Spanish withdrew from the region in the wake of attacks by the English in Florida. For approximately eight decades the land was left to its original inhabitants. Eventually, King Charles II granted the territory to a group of eight proprietors who named it "Carolina" after their benefactor. The first settlers included many Barbadians, and Carolina came to more closely resemble the plantation economy of the West Indies than the other mainland colonies. In 1711, a year after the territory was divided into South Carolina and North Carolina, the town of Beaufort was founded.

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 later, long-staple sea cotton. Wealthy plantation owners had summer homes in Beaufort where they could benefit from cool breezes coming off the Beaufort River. The town was also a hotbed of secessionist sentiment. In 1860, the first meeting to draft the Ordinance of Secession (by which South Carolina led the withdrawal of the southern states from the Union), was held in Beaufort. As a result, the city was an early target of Federal forces.

South Carolina formally seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860. One month later, a Union fleet circled Port Royal Sound and within less than a year after secession Union forces occupied the city, and held it for the balance of the war. The Confederate Fort Walker was renamed Fort Welles, becoming the center of a large garrison that at one point had as many as 50,000 occupants. Fort Welles served as the headquarters of the Department of the South and the refueling and supply depot for the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron. General William Tecumseh Sherman's march through the state at war's end left a trail of destruction that brushed Beaufort County. The war, while not physically decimating the area, claimed one-fifth of the white male population of the state and shattered its economy.

The original interments in the cemetery were men who died in the nearby Union hospitals during the occupation and were initially buried in several places, among them East Florida and Hilton Head. About 2,800 remains were removed from cemeteries in Millen and Lawton, GA, and reinterred in the national cemetery; 117 Confederate soldiers are also interred here.

In May 1987, souvenir hunters using metal detectors on Folly's Island near Charleston discovered the remains of 19 Union soldiers. The South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology identified the remains as members of the 55th Regiment and the 1st North Carolina Infantry. Both units were composed of black troops who fought side by side with the 54th Massachusetts Regiment. The 1989 Memorial Day program at Beaufort National Cemetery featured the reinterment of the 19 Union soldiers missing in action since 1863. The Honor Guard for the service was composed of actors from the cast of the movie "Glory," which was being filmed nearby.

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

Monuments and Memorials The 1870s Union Soldiers monument was erected in honor of 174 unknown Union dead buried at the cemetery; it is marble set on a brick base.

A large granite monument dedicated to "the Defenders of American Liberty Against the Great Rebellion" was erected during the 1880s.

Blue Star Memorial was installed in 1998. Sponsored by the Beaufort Garden Club in cooperation with the Garden Club of South Carolina, the marker is a tribute to American men and women who have served, are serving, or will served their county. Its symbolism is linked to World War II, when families of service members displayed in a home window a square flag decorated with a blue star to signify that a loved was in the armed forces.

The "Fighting Fourth" Marine Monument was erected and dedicated in 1995 by the Fourth Marine Division Association, Carolina Chapter No. 26.

In 1997, a memorial in honor of Confederate soldiers interred at the cemetery was installed.

Notable interments

The National Cemetery Administration lists these people of note buried at Beaufort National Cemetery, with section and site where recorded.

Directions

The cemetery is located within the Beaufort city limits, 42 miles north of the Savannah (GA) International Airport. From Savannah, take U.S. Interstate 95 North, then State Hwy 278 East, exit on State Hwy 170 North to U.S Highway 21 South. Cemetery is approximately one mile on the left on U.S. Highway 21 South, which is also Boundary Street.

Flowers and grounds rules

Our cemetery floral regulations exist only to reflect the honor and respect we hold for our Nation's Veterans, by preserving the dignity and solemnity of their final resting place.

We welcome fresh-cut flowers throughout the year using cemetery-supplied floral vases. The vases are in bins throughout the cemetery.

Education and visiting programs

More than half of VA's national cemeteries originated with the Civil War and many are closed to some burials. Other sites were established to serve World War veterans and they continue to expand. Historic themes related with NCA's cemeteries and soldiers' lots vary, but visitors should understand "Why is it here?" NCA began by installing interpretive signs, or waysides, at more than 100 properties to observe the Civil War Sesquicentennial (2011–2015). Please follow the links below to see the interpretive signs for Beaufort National Cemetery.

A National Cemetery System Beaufort National Cemetery

Who can be buried at Beaufort National Cemetery?

VA national cemeteries accept a veteran who didn't receive a dishonorable discharge, a service member who died on active duty or in training, the veteran's spouse or surviving spouse (even if they remarried), and minor or, in some cases, unmarried adult dependent children. National Guard and Reserve members qualify under narrower rules. You can ask VA for a pre-need eligibility decision in advance; it does not reserve a gravesite.

What does burial here include at no cost?

• A gravesite in any VA national cemetery with available space
• Opening and closing of the grave
• A government-provided burial liner
• A government-provided headstone or marker
• Perpetual care of the gravesite

Veterans also receive a burial flag, a Presidential Memorial Certificate (presented to the next of kin at the burial) and military funeral honors, which include the playing of Taps and two uniformed service members who present the flag. The committal service is held at a committal shelter, not at the grave, and lasts about 20 minutes. National cemeteries have no viewing facilities, so the funeral itself is held elsewhere.

How do you schedule a burial at Beaufort National Cemetery?

1. Gather the veteran's DD214 or other discharge papers, and the deceased's details (Social Security number, dates of birth and death, relationship to the veteran).
2. Fax the discharge papers to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 866-900-6417, or email them to [email protected] with the deceased's name in the subject line.
3. You or the funeral director call 800-535-1117 (Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET) to request Beaufort National Cemetery and a date. National cemeteries hold burials Monday through Friday.

Where is the Beaufort National Cemetery burial schedule?

VA posts a daily burial schedule for every national cemetery. Search it for Beaufort National Cemetery to see the committal services planned there. It only lists burials whose families agreed to publish them. To change or cancel a burial that's already scheduled, contact Beaufort National Cemetery directly at 843-524-3925.

Headstone, flag and burial allowance

• Government headstone or marker: tell the scheduling office which headstone, marker, niche cover or medallion you want when you schedule the burial.
• Burial flag: VA Form 27-2008.
• Burial allowance: For a non-service-connected death on or after October 1, 2026, VA pays up to $1,032 toward burial and funeral costs and $1,032 for a plot; for a service-connected death on or after September 11, 2001, the burial allowance is up to $2,000. Claim it with VA Form 21P-530EZ. All benefits

After the funeral: survivor benefits and the estate

A surviving spouse, child or parent may qualify for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), a tax-free monthly VA benefit, for example when the death was service connected (VA Form 21P-534EZ). The veteran's estate is settled under South Carolina law; our sister site ProbateUS explains how probate works in South Carolina and lists each county's probate court. For the rest of the paperwork, from Social Security to bank accounts, DeathUS has a step-by-step checklist of what to do when someone dies.

Nearest cemeteries

The three veterans cemeteries closest to Beaufort National Cemetery, by straight-line distance:

• Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery - Glennville, Glennville, GA: 80 mi, open for burials
• Fort Jackson National Cemetery, Columbia, SC: 115 mi, open for burials
• Florence National Cemetery Annex, Florence, SC: 132 mi, open for burials