An action; a fight; a battle.

a hostile meeting of opposing military forces in the course of a war; "Grant won a decisive victory in the battle of Chickamauga"; "he lost his romantic ideas about war when he got into a real engagement"

Today engagement refers to a combat of varying size: a full-scale battle or a limited fight in advance of a battle. A variant, meeting engagement, denotes and encounter that surprises either or both opponents. Apparently these definitions were also in use before and during the Civil War.

A dream of an engagement is a forecast of family and/or romantic trouble. Try to cultivate a philosophical attitude.

To dream of a business engagement, denotes dulness and worries in trade. For young people to dream that they are engaged, denotes that they will not be much admired. To dream of breaking an engagement, denotes a hasty, and an unwise action in some important matter or disappointments may follow.