Landon Carter Haynes

Landon Carter Haynes (December 2, 1816 – February 17, 1875) was an American politician who served as a Confederate States senator from Tennessee from 1862 to 1865. He also served several terms in the Tennessee House of Representatives, including one term as speaker (1849–1851). In the early 1840s, Haynes worked as editor of the Jonesborough-based newspaper, Tennessee Sentinel, garnering regional fame for his frequent clashes with rival editor William "Parson" Brownlow.

Following the Civil War, Haynes moved to Memphis where he practiced law. His Tipton-Haynes Place farm near Johnson City (a city previously named “Haynesville” in his honor during the Civil War ) is now a state historic site.

Early life Haynes was born near Elizabethton, Tennessee, the eldest child of David Haynes, a land speculator, and Rhoda (Taylor) Haynes. He attended the Anderson School in Carter County and graduated from Washington College near Jonesborough in 1838. Returning to Elizabethton, he read law with Thomas A.R. Nelson. When Nelson moved to Jonesborough in 1840, Haynes followed him to continue his study of law. He was admitted to the bar in late 1840.

In 1841, Haynes was hired as editor of the Tennessee Sentinel, a pro-Democratic Party newspaper that had been published by his brother-in-law Lawson Gifford since 1835. Over the next five years, Haynes and Brownlow engaged in a ruthless editorial war. Brownlow described Haynes as a "public debauchee and hypocrite," Haynes mocked Brownlow's lineage, and charged that he had once been flogged for stealing jewelry in Nashville.

After a hiatus in which he focused on his law practice, Haynes reentered politics in 1859 when he again ran for Congress. This time, his opponent was his old law mentor Nelson. Haynes championed states' rights and secession, while Nelson ran on a pro-Union platform. Unlike the 1851 campaign, the 1859 canvass was relatively cordial, with Haynes at one point coming to Nelson's defense after a newspaper had misquoted him. Johnson granted the pardon a few days later.

Legacy For decades after his death, Haynes was remembered primarily for his speaking ability. Nelson described him as the "Cicero of America", and author Frank Richardson (1831–1912) called him a "silver-tongued orator".