He commanded infantry in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War until killed in action at Spotsylvania Court House.

When the Civil War began, Perrin entered the Confederate service as a captain in the 14th South Carolina Infantry Regiment that was attached to Brigadier-General Maxcy Gregg's brigade of the famous "Light Division" of Major-General A.P.

When Gregg's successor, Samuel McGowan, was wounded at Chancellorsville, Perrin took command of the brigade and led it at the subsequent Battle of Gettysburg in the division of Major General William D. Pender in Hill's new Third Corps.

When the "Mule Shoe" (or "Bloody Angle") was overrun and most of Major-General Allegheny Johnson's division was captured on May 12, 1864, units from the Third Corps—including Perrin's Brigade—were called in to help.

Leading his troops in a spirited counterattack through a very heavy fire, with his sword in hand, Perrin was riddled with bullets and died instantly, shot seven times.