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Pickett's Charge

Battles
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The failed 1863 Confederate infantry assault on Union lines at Gettysburg, marking the war’s turning point.

Detailed Definition
Pickett’s Charge epitomizes doomed valor and the high-water mark of the Confederacy. In poetry, it symbolizes tragic heroism and the futility of nostalgia—appearing in Southern and American verse as a moment when courage met cannon, where the dream of independence dissolved in smoke, fire, and the silence of the fallen.
Example
Example in poetry:
Pickett's Charge, 1863 climax at Gettysburg, appears in Southern elegy as noble but doomed sacrifice; A modern sonnet might frame the charge as high-water mark of the Confederacy; In a dramatic lyric, a Virginian recalls the mile-long walk into Union fire; A free-verse elegy could mourn the 6,000 lost in under an hour at Pickett’s Charge; Contemporary poets use Pickett’s Charge to explore myth versus military reality; A haiku might capture smoke clearing to reveal Pickett’s shattered ranks.
Additional Notes
Pickett’s Charge (1863) was the climactic, doomed assault at Gettysburg; in American poetry, it embodies Southern valor, tragic overreach, and the war’s irreversible turning point—frequently invoked in elegies that mourn lost causes while questioning the myth of noble sacrifice.
Also Known As
Pickett’s Charge Charge of Pickett’s Division
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