Actually, I think Eric may be right on the money.  In Virginia Baptist history
there is a fair amount of humor regarding the number of points to any pastor's
sermons--the received wisdom being that a sermon without at least three points
ain't much of a sermon.  At the same time, the higher the number of points go
above three, the more the humor increases--suggesting on the other hand that if
you can't say it in three points, it ain't worth saying.

Not having seen the entire excerpt, I would be hesitant to venture much of a
guess, but possibly the writer was using the "thirdly" reference to emphasize
surprise or the suddenness of the need to form the line of battle.  An
effective way of doing so, I'd say.

Lee Shepard
Virginia Historical Society

"Johnson, Eric" wrote:

> Off hand, it almost strikes me as a kind of folksy way of pointing out that
> it was in the middle of the sermon, i.e. "The minister had made his first
> two points and was about to make his third when the colonel called for line
> of battle. . . . "
>
> A common sermon structure, homiletically speaking, is one that makes three
> main points, but that may be neither here nor there.
>
> --Eric
>
> > During a Civil War engagement "...a minister was stopped [during
> > his sermon] at 'thirdly' by the colonel forming the line of battle."
> >
> > What does 'thirdly' mean in this context?
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > Rob Hewitt

--
E. Lee Shepard
Assistant Director for
 Manuscripts and Archives
Virginia Historical Society
P.O. Box 7311
Richmond, VA 23221-0311
(804) 342-9670

To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions
at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html