He later resigned his post in protest against Bismarck's policy. When the German war inevitably loomed in the early summer of 1866, the town remained loyal to the German Confederation, according to its motto "faith in federal law". On 14 June 1866, they voted for the confederate execution against Prussia, though at the same time declaring that it would not participate in the civil war. Still, the town was not able to refrain from the entanglements of war, as Prussia regarded the Frankfurt Confederate loyalty as hostile. Bismarck was determined to violently establish the German unity under Prussian rule and to oust Austria from German politics. On 16 July 1866 the undefended city was occupied by Prussian troops under their General Edward Vogel of Falckenstein, who immediately imposed strict reprisals on the town. Only one day later, on 17 July, a first payment of 5.8 million guilder was imposed on the town. Edwin of Manteuffel, who was appointed as successor of Falckenstein on 20 July raised a second demand of contribution of 25 million guilder. This contribution had to be paid by the 35000 citizens of the free town, among whom approximately 8000 had to pay taxes. Numerous citizens, among them all members of the senate, were imposed with accommodations. The citizens had to provide their own saddle-horses for the army and the traders and landlords were forced to hand over large provisions, vine and cigars to the Prussian army command. Publishing was forbidden for all the newspapers of Frankfurt except for the journal. The editor of the newspaper of the main post office and privy councillor Fischer-Goullet was arrested and suffered a deadly stroke. The senators Bernus, Müller and Speltz were held hostage in the fortress of Cologne but were allowed to return to Frankfurt as a consequence of pledging their word of honour. Numerous citizens of Frankfurt escaped to foreign countries, like Friedrich Stoltze who escaped to Stuttgart and the natural scientist Eduard Rüppell who escaped to Switzerland. In the end of 1866, the emigrants were allowed to return according to a general amnesty. The Free City of Frankfurt was a state of its own. The state back then widely correlated to the borders of the city today. It spread on both riversides of the Main and remained mostly unchanged since the 15th century. The bordering states of Frankfurt were the Grand Duchy of Hesse to the South (Province of Starkenburg) and to the North (Province Upper Hesse), the Electorate Hesse (District of Hanau) to the North and East, the Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg to the Northwest and the Duchy of Nassau to the West.