Although Frankfurt am Main, one of the four "free cities" in the German Confederation, had remained neutral during the recent Austria-Prussia War, the area was annexed into the Prussian state of Hesse by a proclamation backed with the threat of force. Two and a half weeks later, on October 8, 1866, Prussian officials took formal possession of the city and its 90,000 inhabitants. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
"Frankfort," The American Cyclopedia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1866 (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1873), 336.