A post office opened at Jernigan in 1850. Jernigan appears on an 1855 map of Florida, and by 1856, the area had become the county seat of Orange County. In 1857, the post office was removed from Jernigan, and opened under the name of Orlando at a new location in present-day downtown Orlando. During the American Civil War, the post office closed, but reopened in 1866. The move is believed to be sparked, in part, by Aaron Jernigan's fall from grace after he was relieved of his militia command by military officials in 1856. His behavior was so notorious that Confederate Secretary of War Jefferson Davis wrote, "It is said they militia are more dreadful than the Indians." In 1859, Jernigan and his sons were accused of committing a murder at the town's post office. They were then transported to Ocala, but escaped.