Tucker became a United States Navy Midshipman on June 1, 1826, at age fourteen, and had service afloat in the Mediterranean and Brazil Squadrons prior to his promotion to Lieutenant on December 20, 1837.

He was ordered to scuttle his vessels and retreat to Wilmington, North Carolina after General William T. Sherman with his army came to Charleston.

He surrendered in the field on April 6, 1865, at the Battle of Sailor's Creek, southwest of Petersburg, and remained a prisoner of war until July 24.

[6] In 1866, the Peruvian Minister to the United States contacted Tucker to arrange an interview in Washington, D.C. At that time, Peru and Chile were in the Chincha Islands War with Spain, and the Peruvian President, General Mariano Ignacio Prado, invited Tucker to join their Navy as a rear admiral, bringing with him two staff officers of his choice.

Tucker accepted the position and went to Peru with Captain David Porter McCorkle and Commander Walter Raleigh Butt.

Although some Peruvian naval officers objected to a foreigner in command of their fleet, Tucker did his best to raise the battle preparedness of the combined navies of Peru and Chile.

He was then appointed president of the Hydrographic Commission of Peru on the Amazon River, which included a group of American and Peruvian naval officers and engineers, James Henry Rochelle, David Porter McCorkle, Walter Raleigh Butt, and Thomas Wing Sparrow, among others.