rallying point

Noun

rallying point (plural rallying points)

1. A designated area for troops to concentrate upon; a sign marking such an area.
   • At last, 'Ali, perceiving that her camel was the rallying-point of the enemy, sent one of his captains to hamstring, and thus disable it. With a loud cry the animal fell to the ground.1924, William Muir, “chapter 35”, in The Caliphate: Its Rise, Decline and Fall
2. (figuratively) A cause, symbol, or a place that may unite a fragmented group or persons opposing each over in other matters.
   • "We have always some reigning mania," said the Chevalier de Joinville, when, in common with others of the court, he came in to Madame de Mercœur's, on his way to a fête given by Madame de Soissons, whose hôtel was more than ever the rallying point of the court. "Every body now is making what they...1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter VII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 63
   • The proposition that James had ceased to be King had been the rallying point of the two parties which had made up the majority. But from that point their path diverged.1848, The History Of England From the Accession of James II, Macaulay, chapter 10