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
Assassination of James A. Garfield the station, but he collided with policeman Patrick Kearney who was entering the station after hearing the gunfire. Kearney apprehended Guiteau and was so excited at having arrested the man who had shot Garfield that he neglected to take his gun from him until after they arrived at the police station. Kearney demanded, "In God's name, what did you shoot the president for?" Guiteau did not respond. The rapidly gathering crowd screamed, "Lynch him", but Kearney and several other police officers took the assassin to the police station a few blocks away. As he surrendered to authorities, Guiteau uttered the