 On October 24, 1861, the Tennessee General Assembly elected Haynes to one of the state's two seats in the Confederate Senate (the other went to Gustavus A. Henry).As a senator, he sought higher pay for troops, and introduced legislation that would allow pay for POWs to be sent to their families.He supported conscription, but sought exemptions for members of state militias and overseers of plantations with twenty or more slaves.