Caldwell Conversion Chain Pistol

CALDWELL CONVERSION CHAIN PISTOL. (See also, PISTOL, VICTOR CALDWELL) The sluggish reload time of the original Caldwell Conversion Pistol inspired Victor Caldwell - son of company namesake Henry Samuel Caldwell - to experiment with variations that would add both speed and grace to the original design. The result was the innovative if unusual Conversion Chain Pistol, the only of Victor's designs to see production, though of a limited scope. Caldwell family friends have speculated that the design was an attempt by the younger Caldwell to repair the decade-long estrangement between his father and himself. The failure of this attempt has been linked to Victor Caldwell's disappearance in 1895, when his design was eclipsed by a simpler and more popular single action revolver.

The Caldwell Conversion Chain Pistol was innovative in that it uses a ribbon of 17 cartridges. Cocking the hammer propels the loop through the chamber, readying a new cartridge for a quick and immediate release. According to company memorandum from the time, there was great doubt surrounding the concept, but it was not prone to jamming or misfiring as feared. However, once the cartridge chain is spent, the chain pistol is slower to reload than its predecessor, and what it gains in cartridge capacity, it loses in accuracy, range, and power.

Correspondence, Philip Huff Jones
Typewritten, carbon copy

May 21, 1895
Victor,

I write in haste. Last night we were surrounded by what I can only call a pack. Previously, they wandered alone, barely taking notice of their own kind. Perhaps it was coincidence; perhaps this marks a new development. I pray it is the former, for if they are growing more intelligent, we will need more men

Your latest shipment had just arrived. The chain pistols. Finch had begun the training, but I was wary, and they were still unpracticed. Seven trainees were forced to use them immediately, as they were close at hand when the pack arrived. Most were unprepared for such a trial and handled the weapons clumsily, though that does not explain what happened next: the ammunition bundles began to explode in a chain reaction that took out many.

The initial three survivors were badly burned, and did not survive the night. What cruel satire of the holiday so recently celebrated! My hand is injured, and one of the staff was bitten and is under observation. I must end here; 1 will write again as soon as I am able,

As ever in high regard,
Philip