and aggressively pursued spar-torpedo warfare against U.S. warships. He was ordered to scuttle his vessels and retreat to Wilmington, North Carolina after General William T. Sherman with his army came to Charleston. Tucker formed a marine detachment from the crews of ships which became known as Tucker's Marine Brigade. During the U.S. Civil War's last weeks he served with his men in the defenses of Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital, manning Fort Darling on Drewry's Bluff on the James River while the Confederate States Army was facing its final destiny at Appomattox, Virginia. 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. After his release, he returned to the South to work as an agent of the Southern Express Company of Raleigh, North Carolina. Peruvian Navy 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. Prado planned for Tucker to lead the allied fleet of Peru and Chile against the Spanish, leading a campaign against the Philippines. Tucker accepted the position and went to Peru with Captain David Porter McCorkle and Commander Walter Raleigh Butt. After arriving at Valparaiso, Chile, Tucker raised his flag on board the Peruvian armored frigate Independencia. 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. Several Peruvian naval officers, led by Captain Lizardo Montero, felt insulted at such a decision since they felt that they had shown they were just as capable as any other officers to lead and win a naval battle and resigned to their command commissions. Among these Manuel Ferreyros, Aurelio García y García and also, including Miguel Grau Seminario, later known as "the Knight of the Seas" at the War of Guano and Salitre (1879-1883), they all resigned to their commissions due to Tucker's appointment. After the Spanish fleet left South America's Pacific coast, Tucker stepped down as fleet commander but remained a rear admiral because of the support of President