He was born in 1823 in Jackson County, Georgia, United States, the son of Hiram and Nancy (Flake) Perry.
When he was ten years old the family moved to Chambers County, Alabama. This county was a part of the cession of the Creek Indians that had been made only a year earlier, and the boy grew up in the most primitive frontier conditions.
He had little or no schooling in Chambers County, Alabama. Poor as his training was it was better than that of most of his neighbors. Later he studied law.
He taught school in Talladega County, Alabama, from 1848 to 1853. He was admitted to the bar in 1854, but he never practised his profession, for in the same year he was elected state superintendent of education and, twice reelected, served until 1858. The office of superintendent of education had been created in 1854 by an act of the Alabama legislature providing for a free public school system, and he was the first to hold the office. He entered upon the task with energy, but the situation he faced was most discouraging. The population was sparse and the available funds were small. The people were indifferent, and he never had adequate popular support. Teachers and administrators were indifferent and incompetent. In the face of these difficulties he accomplished much. He was able to build an organization and to persuade the legislature to revise the law in 1856 in the interest of greater efficiency of administration. In 1858 he resigned his position as superintendent of education to become president of the East Alabama Female College at Tuskeegee. He remained there until 1862.
He enlisted in the Confederate army as a private in the 44th Alabama Infantry. Within a few weeks he was elected major by the men of the regiment. His promotion was rapid; on September 1, 1862, he was made lieutenant-colonel and upon the death of the colonel of the regiment at Sharpsburg he was advanced to colonel. He led his regiment in the assault on Round Top at Gettysburg and later at Chickamauga, after which he was cited for gallantry by General Longstreet and recommended for promotion. He commanded his brigade during 1864 and 1865, but his commission as brigadier-general was dated March 16, 1865. He was paroled with his regiment at Appomattox.
After the war he returned to Alabama and spent two years as a planter. In 1867 he took charge of a military college in Glendale, Kentucky, and went from there to Ogden College at Bowling Green, where he became professor of English and philosophy.
He died in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
William Flake Perry was the first state superintendent of public instruction of Alabama, he laid the foundations for a strong public school system of Alabama. He also was president of East Alabama Female College at Tuskegee. Besides, he was the author of famous work "The Genesis of Public Education in Alabama". During the American Civil War he fought with distinction at Gettysburg and later at Chickamauga and was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.
He worked with energy and enthusiasm.
He was married in 1851 to Ellen Douglas Brown in Talladega, Alabama, the niece of William P. Chilton. They had seven children.
