Re: July 28, 1864
Alan, I've just completed an article on the Battle of Ezra Church for a forthcoming book. While Hood's orders didn't specify an attack, his orders did give Lee some discretion in the matter. The telling point is that Hood, so ready to find fault with others for disobeying his orders, never found fault with Lee for ordering the assault. Thus Hood impliedly endorsed the attack as being within Lee's discretion.