Lewis V. Tucker was born on June 27, 1829, in Steuben, New York. He married Deborah Osgood on June 20, 1854, and they had two children: Frank, born on July 14, 1855; and Lillian, born on October 8, 1857. They lived in Arcadia, New York, and he worked as a master wagon maker. By 1860, he owned $1,000 of real estate and $300 of personal property.
He enlisted in the Union army on August 26, 1862, and he mustered in as a private in Company A of the 160th New York Infantry. According to his service records, he was 5 feet, 11 inches tall, with sandy hair and grey eyes. The regiment took part in the siege of Port Hudson. He expressed disdain for northern Peace Democrats, writing, "Tell them northern traitors there at home that we shall soon be done whipping the honorable rebels here at the South and then we can attend to their case for we had just as lieve fight traitors at the north as at the south." He developed “chronic inflamation of [the] liver” while serving as a hospital nurse, and his health never fully recovered. Officials transferred him to the 163rd Company of the 2nd Veteran Reserve Corps Battalion on April 28, 1864, and he was discharged for disability on May 3, 1865.
His neighbors later recalled that he returned home from the army “sick, greatly emaciated, and suffering with disease of the liver.” By 1868, he was suffering from a severe cough, congestion of the lungs, and “billious derangement.” He died in Newark, New York, on October 29, 1868.