This seemed to be far more interesting than the warmed over pirate tales the guides were feeding the other tourists and I started to research more information. This is how the Royal Vic looked in its heyday, and here is an account of Civil War blockade running.Blockade runner ships were often specially built steamers that could slipin and out of the Union blockade to trade southern cotton to England for arms, munitions,and medicine. Nassau functioned as a transfer port and the hotel was the place for blockade runners to rest and party betwen runs. Here is some more information on the ships.

After the war, the hotel's clients dissapeared, but the Royal Vic struggled on until a fire put it out of business for good in 1979. A few years after we saw it, even the burned out shell was gone, torn down to make way for more government buildings. Here is what the site looks like today...

Behind the Scenes: The story behind Nassau

Most books begin with an idea. Nassau began with a vacation. Barbara and I were in the Bahamas and set off to explore Nassau one day. After seeing the usual tourist sites, we came upon an overgrown park-like area that had a profusion of exotic plants and flowers, all seemingly neglected. In the center of this area was the shell of a concrete building. The building had obviousdly been pretty big for Nassau, and looked to be the victim of a fire. A small sign said the building was the remains of the Royal Victoria Hotel, and that the hotel had been headquarters for American blockade runners during the Civil War.