Horseguards. See GUARDS. The name is also applied to a large public office in Whitehall, appropriated to the departments under the general commanding-in-chief. The word Horseguards is used conventionally to signify the military authorities at the head of army affairs, in contradistinction to the civil chief, the Secretary of State for War.
Horseguards.
Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume 5: Friday to Humanitarians, p. 796
Source scan(s): p. 0813