He was the Medical Inspector throughout the American Civil War, notable for his service at the II Corps camp during the Battle of Gettysburg.

[3] Cuyler would also serve the Mexican–American War and was promoted to Major and Surgeon on February 16, 1847, as well as officially being part of the United States Medical Corps.

[1][3] Despite being a Southerner, Cuyler chose to stay loyal to the Union and was the senior medical officer at Fort Monroe throughout the first years of the war.

During the Battle of Gettysburg, Cuyler served at the II Corps field hospital and while operating a gangrenous wound, his scalpel slipped and cut into his finger.

[3][5] He then moved to Morristown, New Jersey at one point before dying there on April 26, 1884, and being buried at Laurel Grove Cemetery.