Caldwell edited the Jacksonville Republican in 1851 and 1852 and assumed the editorship of the Sunny South in 1855.

Caldwell was elected solicitor for the tenth judicial circuit in 1863 but was deposed by the Provisional Governor in 1865.

He was reelected the same year, and in 1867 was removed from office for refusing to obey military orders.

Caldwell was first elected to congress on November 5, 1872 as a fusion candidate of the Liberal Republican and Democratic parties.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress