Approximately 1½ miles west near the shore of Lake Alfred stood Fort Cummings, named for Col. Alexander Cummings of the Fourth Infantry. Established January 22, 1839, it was occupied by detachments of the First and Second Infantry and the Third Artillery. It formed part of the line of forts set up in central Florida to protect the route from Fort Brooke, Tampa, to Fort Mellon, Sanford. One dramatic event occurred when Coacoochee, or Wildcat, appeared at the fort wearing the full regalia of a member of a Shakespearean cast. The year before, in 1840, Wildcat and his band had attacked a theatrical group between Picolata and St. Augustine and, after killing the men of the party, escaped with the troupe's costumes. He and his band wore these as they approached the fort, creating quite an effect on the spectators.