Marking 55th’s moment of glory

Bohrn said by phone this week from his home in Rock Hill, S.C., that he decided to seek historical markers for the site several years ago, after he was asked to write an article for a Civil War magazine. “It brought back the emotions I had back in 1987 with the discovery. I thought, ‘Why isn’t there a marker out there memorializing their lives?’ ’’

Through donations, locally and from Massachusetts residents, Bohrn raised about $1,900 for the markers.

The silver and black 42-by-32-inch markers are to be unveiled during a ceremony at 6 p.m. at Folly River Park, about a quarter-mile from the gravesite on Folly Island. Elected officials, reenactment actors, a military color guard, and musical groups are scheduled to attend.

“Since we’re at the beginning of the sesquicentennial [150th] anniversary of the Civil War, this has enormous symbolic meaning,’’ said Donald Yacovone, research manager at Harvard University’s W.E.B. Dubois Institute.

“If you review all the books and articles on the Civil War, a small percentage of it is devoted to African-Americans, although their participation was critical,’’ Yacovone said. “President Lincoln said that without their participation, the war couldn’t have been won.’’

In 1987, Bohrn and a friend had been out among the palmetto trees on a sandy stretch of Folly Beach, searching for buttons and other relics with a metal detector, when they found a femur and then more bones.

The South Carolina Institute of Archeology and Anthropology excavated the remains and determined that the soldiers had been members of the 55th Regiment, made up of free-born African-Americans, assembled in Massachusetts and trained in the Readville section of Boston before heading south to fight the Confederacy.

The 55th, with roughly 1,000 soldiers, saw action in 1864 on James Island near Charleston and fought in the Battle of Honey Hill, south of Charleston, joining with the 54th and other black regiments. About 64 men from the 55th were killed or mortally wounded in battle, and approximately 128 died of disease.

Specialists believe the soldiers died mostly of disease, particularly dysentery. Their remains were reburied in 1989 at Beaufort National Cemetery in South Carolina, an event attended by Michael S. Dukakis, then governor of Massachusetts.

Because the site was lost to development, it cannot be recognized as a National Historical Place, like famous Civil War battlefields.

Mayor Timothy Goodwin of Folly Beach said the ceremony is scheduled to coincide with the anniversary Monday of the assault on nearby Fort Wagner.

“This celebration will not be about the town,’’ Goodwin said. “It is about the folks who created history and died here.

“Hopefully, this will bring more awareness and recognition to those soldiers, and maybe we can make a history trail that stops here.’’

Brian R. Ballou can be reached at bballou@globe.com.