On August 12, 1862, after the outbreak of the American Civil War, he enlisted as a private in Company B of the 31st Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment.
On January 29, 1883, U.S. President Chester A. Arthur named Perkins as the United States marshal for the Northern District of Iowa.
In 1890, Perkins was one of three major candidates who challenged incumbent 11th district Congressman Isaac S. Struble for the Republican nomination.
In 1894, he was one of seven Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the retirement of James F. Wilson, the winner was John H.
George Douglas Perkins Statesman Publisher of a statement essay by Red Cloud in the editorial section of the Sioux City Journal along with the anniversary articles of the papers' founding with the founders' photos.