Office Hours: Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Closed federal holidays except Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

Visitation Hours: Open daily from 8:00 a.m. to sunset.

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, Georgia, 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 Assn, Carolina Chapter No. 26.

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

NOTABLE BURIALS
Private First Class Ralph H. Johnson (Vietnam). Ralph Johnson was born in Charleston, South Carolina, on January 11, 1949. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves in March 1967, and thereafter, the regular USMC, to fight in the Vietnam War. On March 5, 1968, PFC Johnson and his patrol, overlooking the Quan Duc Valley, were attacked by enemy forces. Johnson threw himself on a grenade and warned his comrades; actions that prevented the enemy from advancing and saved the life of a fellow marine. PFC Johnson received the Medal of Honor posthumously. The Charleston VA Medical Center was renamed for him in September 1991, and the navy named a destroyer (U.S.S. Ralph Johnson DDG 114) after him in 2015. Johnson's remains were interred in Beaufort National Cemetery in March 1970, in Section 3, Site 21.
Captain John James McGinty III (Vietnam). McGinty was born in Boston in 1940, and he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating from high school. In 1966, McGinty began a tour of duty in Vietnam. On July 18, attacked by the North Vietnamese and severely wounded in the left eye, he saved the lives of dozens of men. McGinty received the Medal of Honor from President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968. Later, as a born-again Christian, a faith that rejects idolatry, he chose to not display the medal because it features the image of Minerva. Captain McGinty retired in 1976 and worked at the VA Medical Center in San Diego, California. He died January 17, 2014, and is buried in Section D, Site 703.

Other Burials
Colonel Donald Conroy, "The Great Santini" is interred in Section 62, Grave 182.

Charles "Chuck" Taliano was born in Ohio in 1945 and served in the U.S. Marines from 1964 to 1968. Sergeant Taliano trained at Parris Island, SC, and was posted there as a drill Instructor in 1966. Photographed while addressing a recruit shortly before his tour ended, he became the face of the service during the Vietnam Era. The picture of Taliano, captioned "We don't promise you a rose garden," appeared on recruiting posters into the 1990s. After a civilian career in publishing, Taliano retired to Beaufort and ran a gift shop on Parris Island where he received thousands of visitors every year. Many men said they joined the marines because of Taliano. He died June 4, 2010, and is buried in Beaufort National Cemetery (Section A, Grave 120).

Nineteen Union Soldiers of the all black Massachusetts 54th and 55th Infantry were removed from Folly Island, S.C., and reinterred here with full military honors on Memorial Day, May 29, 1989.

South Carolinian Joseph Simmons was born in 1899. He attended the Penn School on St. Helena Island, one of the country's first schools for freed slaves, and enlisted in the army on February 18, 1918. MSgt. Simmons fought with the French during World War I, attached to the 5th Marines in three campaigns, including Belleau Wood. During World War II, Simmons served with the 25th Infantry, Buffalo Soldiers. An interest in music led to his becoming assistant bandleader, 92nd Division, in 1944. Simmons served for 34 years in all. For his World War I service, he received the French Legion of Honor Medal just a few weeks before his 100th birthday. He died September 24, 1999 (Section 2, Grave 2).

Gerd Reussel, German World War II Prisoner of War, Section PB61, Grave 18.

On February 11, 1962, eight U.S. servicemen and two South Vietnamese air force personnel died when their C47 transport plane was shot down between Saigon and Danang. The mission was to drop propaganda leaflets with lunar new year wishes to Vietnamese people. Among the dead were six members of the U.S. Air Force — the first USAF casualties of the Vietnam conflict. The remains of USAF Technical Sergeant Floyd M. Frazier (b. 1927) and Army Specialist 4th Class Glen F. Merrihew (b.1940) were comingled because of the crash, and Beaufort National Cemetery was selected by the military for their burial between the decedents' next of kin. Frazier, the youngest of twelve, was survived by his wife Doris and three children. Merrihew, just 21 years old, was due for discharge in September; sister Leona was his legal guardian. Funeral services were held March 12, 1962 (Section 42, Gravesite 234).