 While still in Elizabethton, Haynes began to quarrel with William G. "Parson" Brownlow, a former circuit rider who had left the ministry in 1839 to publish and edit the "Whig", a radically pro-Whig newspaper (he had been encouraged to establish this paper by Haynes's mentor, Nelson).In March 1840, Brownlow accused Haynes of an assassination attempt after an unknown assailant fired two shots at him; Haynes suggested Brownlow fabricated the entire incident.A few weeks later, Brownlow attacked Haynes with a cane, igniting a brawl that ended with Haynes drawing a pistol and shooting Brownlow in the thigh.