Born on October 8, 1832, in Montgomery, Vermont, Fuller was admitted to the Vermont bar and began his legal career in 1856, when he moved to Iowa and practiced law in Janesville. Two years later, in 1858, he relocated to Magnolia and he was elected to represent the Ninth General Assembly in the Iowa House from 1862 to 1864. On December 1, 1862, Fuller enlisted in the Civil War, mustering in at Camp Dodge in Council Bluffs. He served as a captain in the 29th Iowa Infantry, Company C. The regiment suffered devastating losses, with 310 men killed or mortally wounded, including 266 who died from disease. Despite struggling with his own health, Fuller was sickly but continued working and caring for the sick and wounded. Tragically, he died suddenly on March 14, 1863, in Greenwood, Mississippi. Captain Fuller was a young man of superior talent, and everyone who knew him saw in his extraordinary intellect a promise of future distinction and lasting influence.