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Rare Civil War Photo Donated To Lincoln Library

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.

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