Illinois historians have obtained a photograph that looks ordinary but is extremely rare - the image of an African-American man who fought in the Civil War.
The picture shows Nathan Hughes decades after the war, when he was a respected farmer in northern Illinois.
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library announced the find Tuesday. The library has only one other photo of a black Civil War soldier, and his name is a mystery.
The faded photo of Hughes was taken around 1900. It shows Hughes and his wife, Jane. He is wearing a medal that identifies him as a Civil War veteran.
Library official Kathryn Harris says the picture is important because it puts a name and face to the story of African-American soldiers fighting against slavery.