the third confederate brigade in line, under ambrose wright, crushed two regiments posted on the emmitsburg road north of the codori farm, captured the guns of two batteries, and advanced toward a gap in the union line just south of the copse of trees. (for a time, the only union soldiers in this part of the line were gen. meade and some of his staff officers.) wright's georgia brigade may have reached the crest of cemetery ridge and beyond. many historians have been skeptical of wright's claims in his after-action report, which, if correct, would mean he passed the crest of the ridge and got as far as the widow leister's house before being struck in the flank and repulsed by union reinforcements (brig. gen. george j. stannard's vermont brigade). others believe his account was plausible because he accurately described the masses of union troops on the baltimore pike that would have been invisible to him if he had been stopped earlier. furthermore, his conversations with general lee that evening lend support to his claim. it is possible that lee derived some false confidence from wright about the ability of his men to reach cemetery ridge the following day in pickett's charge.