British Bull Dog revolver were chambered for the .44 S&W American or .442 Webley cartridges. The .44 Bull Dog was a popular American cartridge that was a shorter and less powerful cartridge that could also be fired from .442 Webley caliber revolvers. Charles J. Guiteau used a .442 Webley British Bulldog revolver to assassinate U.S. President James A. Garfield on 2 July 1881. Guiteau was a disgruntled lawyer, who was angry that Garfield had not appointed him to a federal post. Guiteau reportedly wanted a British Bulldog revolver with ivory grips instead of wooden ones, as he believed they would look nicer when the
Charles J. Guiteau lined up every day to see them in person were continually rejected, as were his numerous letters. By the early days of Garfield's administration, Guiteau was living in Washington, D.C., destitute and forced to sneak from rooming house to rooming house without paying for his lodging and meals, and to walk around the cold, snowy city in a threadbare suit, without a coat, hat or boots. He spent his days in hotel lobbies reading discarded newspapers to keep track of the schedules of Garfield and his cabinet and making use of the hotels' complimentary stationery to write them letters pressing