The Sun.
London, England, 1854-07-26 00:00:00

CONSTANTINOPLE. July 13.—1 send you news of
an unhappy encounter, which has resulted in the
death of a young and promising commander.
The circumstance may probably -be known in Eng-
land by some shorter route before it can be learned
from here, but the following details. will no doubt be ac-
ceptable. The town or village of Sulina, at the mouth
of the Danube, is almost surrounded by a jungle of reeds,
where stockades had been formed for the defence of the
place by the enemy. These reeds are so high that they
conceal both men and horses from the view of any one
ascending the stream by a boat, and furnish great facili-
ties for a stubborn and wily enemy to harrass troops
whom be is unable to meet in the field. After the
capture of Sulina last month, it was thought that the
Russians had entirely left the vicinity, and a degree of
confidence or negligence was inspired, which has termi-
nated most unfortunately. It appears that so far from
the enemy having abandoned the neighbourhood, they
have never ceased to occupy the jungle which lines the
banks of the river, and have waited for their opportu-
nity to revenge the off-hand capture of this important
point. On Friday, the 7th of this month, Captain
Parker, of the Firebrand, was ascending the river in his
gig, and at some distance behind was another boat of the
same vessel, and Capt. Powell, ofthe Vesuvius, in a third
The excursion seems to have been entirely unconnected
with any warlike object,and so completely was the pre-
sence of an enemy unanticipated ithatqlie Chaplain and
Surgeon of the Firebrand were in the boat with their
captain. As,the first boat came abreast of a stockade,
supposed to have been long deserted, a shower of mus-
ket balls were poured in from an unseen enemy. No
one was struck ; but a ball passed through the surgeon's
coat, and one or two others narrowly escaped. The boat
immediately put back to obtain the assistance of the
others, and Capt. Parker and his companions were dis-
posed to treat the matter very lightly, laughing at the
Russians for not being better shots. Capt. Powell with
the other boats came up almost immediately; the sailers
rowed for the stockade, and Capt. Parker sprung on
shore to lead the attack. He had made but a few steps
when he was struck through the heart with a musket
ball and fell dead. Capt. Powell then took the com-
mand, and in a few minutes had driven the enemy from
their stronghold. The Russians however made a brave
resistance. An eye-witness declares that the only two
of the enemy to be seen at first were a couple of offi-
cers, who stood calmly at the embrasures of the stock-
ade and were picked off by the English sailors, while
directing their men where to fire. Indeed, the accounts
of all our encounters with the Russians mention the
same fact, of the devotion and bravery of the Musco-
vite officers, who literally drag on their men by the
collar, or force them into fire with the points of their
swords. The Russians seem in this respect to be exactly the
opposite of their Turkish opponents; in the Ottoman army
the common soldiers are distinguished by the fanaticism
and desperation of tbeir attack, while the officers are be-
wildered with fear and responsibility. Thecontrist teaches
a kind of lesson, and shows that the Turkish resistance
is that living national principle which inspired the
Spaniards at Saragossa, and the Transteverini at Rome ;
while the Russians are actuated only by the prompting
of military honour, a feeling seldom shared in by the
private soldiers, who can rise to no high rank, and must
have a deeper feeling to incite them to acts of courage.
The unfortunate commander who fell in this affair was
one of the youngest post-captains in the navy : he had,
it is said, just completed his 29th year. He was the
son of Admiral Hyde Parker, late one of the Lords of
the Admiralty. Belonging to a family long distinguished
in the naval annals of this country, he gave promise of
equalling any of his race in services to his country. So
small ha.: been the actual amount of fighting which has
taken place during the war that the death of a single
officer creates a sensation, which old men, accus-
tomed to the bloody bulletins of former days, perhaps,
scarcely understand.