Grand Army of the Republic Hall

Front: This building was built ca. 1896 by the David Hunter Post No. 9, Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.). The G.A.R., founded in 1866, was a fraternal society for veterans of the Union army and navy, with white and black posts. David Hunter Post was founded in 1888 by African-American veterans, many of them former slaves on Sea Island plantations who had been soldiers in the United States Colored Troops in the Civil War. Reverse: The post was named for Gen. David Hunter (1802-1886), who had organized the nucleus of the 1st S.C. Volunteers (Colored) in 1862. Robert Smalls (1839-1915), Civil War hero, state legislator, militia general, and U.S. Congressman, was a post officer. The post hosted annual Decoration Day services at Beaufort National Cemetery and the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War continue that tradition.