Fifth Generation

19. Corunna FRENCH was born about 1828 in Arlington, East Sussex, England.^219,220,221 He lived at Union Workhouse in Hellingly, East Sussex, England in 1841.³⁴ In 1861 he was a Labourer.²²² In 1871 Corunna was an unemployed Bricklayer.²²³ He died in 1909 at the age of 81 in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England.²²⁴ Corunna was probably named after the Battle of Corunna, Spain 1809:

Napoleonic Wars - Battle of Corunna
16 January 1809
Having just completed an exhausting retreat through appalling cold, the British army arrived at Corunna just ahead of the pursuing French under Marshal Soult.
More than 5000 British had died during the cruel march and while discipline had been strained to breaking point, the need to hold the French off while the troops were evacuated by ship to England brought the professionalism back.
Led by Sir John Moore, the redcoats formed a series of defensive lines with the key position being the small village of Elvina.
This point was targeted by Soult and, following a lengthy bombardment, he sent in a heavy attack against the defending 42 and 50th regiments.
The battle for the village was ferocious and it took several hours for the British to drive off the attackers.
An attempt by French cavalry to outflank the British right was defeated by sharpshooting riflemen of the 95th.
A more direct assault on the centre of the defenders was also driven off and, as night fell, the British returned to evacuating the troops.
The cost to the British included some 900 men and the death of Sir John Moore, while the French suffered some 2000 casualties.
The evacuation, however, was a complete success and led to some 27,000 men being saved to fight another day.

Corunna FRENCH and Harriet ROWLAND were married in 1853 in Brighton, East Sussex, England.²²⁵ They²²⁵ lived at 34 Lennox Street in Brighton, East Sussex, England between 1861 and 1871.^222,223 Harriet ROWLAND was born about 1828 in Horsham, West Sussex, England.^226,227 Between 1861 and 1871 she was a Lanudress.^222,223 She died in 1914 at the age of 86 in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, England.²²⁸

Corunna FRENCH-8851 and Harriet ROWLAND-8860 had the following children: