14. During the progress of the war the commerce of the United States was greatly injured by the Confederate cruisers. The first ship sent out was the _Savannah_, which was captured on the same day that she escaped from Charleston. In June of 1861, the _Sumter_, commanded by Captain Semmes, ran the blockade at New Orleans, and did fearful work with the Union merchantmen. But in February of 1862, Semmes was chased into the harbor of Gibraltar, where he was obliged to sell his vessel. The _Nashville_ ran out from Charleston, and returned with a cargo worth three millions of dollars. In March of 1863 she was sunk by a Union iron-clad in the Savannah River. 15. The ports of the Southern States were now closely blockaded. In this emergency the Confederates turned to the ship-yards of Great Britain, and began to build cruisers. In the harbor of Liverpool the _Florida_ was fitted out; and going to sea in the summer of 1862, she succeeded in running into Mobile Bay. She afterward destroyed fifteen merchantmen, and was then captured and sunk in Hampton Roads. The _Georgia_, the _Olustee_, the _Shenandoah_ and the _Chickamauga_, all built at the ship-yards of Glasgow, Scotland, escaped to sea and made great havoc with the merchant-ships of the United States. [Sidenote: =The Alabama.=] 16. Most destructive of all was the _Alabama_, built at Liverpool. Her commander was Captain Raphael Semmes. A majority of the crew were British subjects; and her armament was entirely British. In her whole career, involving the destruction of sixty-six vessels and a loss of ten million dollars, she never entered a Confederate port. In the summer of 1864 Semmes was overtaken in the harbor of Cherbourg, France, by the steamer _Kearsarge_. On the 19th of June, Semmes went out to give his antagonist battle. After a desperate fight of an hour's duration, the _Alabama_ was sunk. Semmes was picked up by the English _Deerhound_ and carried to Southampton. [Sidenote: Grant's Advance on Richmond.] 17. On the night of the 3d of May, 1864, the national camp at Culpepper was broken up, and the march on Richmond was begun. On the first day of the advance, Grant crossed the Rapidan and entered the Wilderness, a country of oak woods and thickets. He was immediately attacked by the Confederate army. During the 5th, 6th, and 7th of the month, the fighting continued incessantly with terrible losses; but the results were indecisive. Grant next made a flank movement in the direction of Spottsylvania Courthouse. Here followed, from the 9th until the 12th, one of the bloodiest struggles of the war. The Federals gained some ground and captured the division of General Stewart; but the losses of Lee were less than those of his antagonist.