The 55th Massachusetts Regiment commanded by Colonel Hallowell of Boston acquitted itself valiantly during many Civil War battles, particularly in the battle of Honey Hill in South Carolina, where its determined resistance to advancing southern forces saved the lives of numerous Federal troops. In 1986, 19 skeletons unearthed in South Carolina were determined to be the remains of men of the Massachusetts 55th. The remains were re-interred in a special Memorial Day service on May 30, 1989, in Beaufort, South Carolina.