Definition

1. Proper noun:
   • A major battle of the American Civil War (1863): The Battle of Gettysburg was a pivotal three-day conflict in July 1863, in which the Union Army defeated General Robert E. Lee's invading Confederate forces. It is widely considered the war's turning point.

Usage Examples

• Proper noun:
  • The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War.
  • Historians study the tactics used during the Battle of Gettysburg.
  • A famous speech, the Gettysburg Address, was delivered later that year at the site of the battle.

Advanced Usage

• "the Gettysburg of [a conflict]": used metaphorically to denote a decisive, turning-point battle in any extended struggle.
  • The company's legal victory was the Gettysburg of its decade-long patent war.

Variants and Related Words

• Gettysburg (proper noun): The town in Pennsylvania where the battle occurred; often used shorthand to refer to the battle itself.
  • We visited the monuments at Gettysburg.
• Gettysburg Address (proper noun): The famous speech by President Abraham Lincoln in November 1863, dedicating a cemetery for the Union soldiers who fell at Gettysburg.

Synonyms

• Gettysburg Campaign: Refers to the entire military operation of which the battle was the climax.
• The turning point (of the Civil War): A descriptive phrase for the battle's significance.

Related Phrases

• "High water mark of the Confederacy": A historical phrase often used to describe the Battle of Gettysburg, specifically Pickett's Charge, as the farthest point of major Confederate advancement in the war.

Noun

1. a battle of the American Civil War (1863); the defeat of Robert E. Lee's invading Confederate Army was a major victory for the Union