Short answers, pulled from the story.
Napoleon Bonaparte founded the Confederation of the Rhine on the 12th of July 1806 through a treaty signed under duress. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand instructed envoys from various principalities to sign documents decided solely between him and Napoleon.
Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Hesse-Darmstadt, Mecklenburg, Saxony, Nassau, Westphalia, Berg, and Frankfurt were among the initial members. Prussia lost to France in 1806 before most secondary German states joined the confederation later that year.
Co-founder Bavaria provided 30,000 soldiers while Baden contributed 5,000 troops and Württemberg supplied 4,000 men. The Grand Duchy of Frankfurt offered 968 soldiers despite its small size and other members maintained armies for mutual defense.
Allies opposing Napoleon dissolved the Confederation of the Rhine on the 4th of November 1813 following the Battle of Leipzig. Many members changed sides when it became clear Napoleon would lose the War of the Sixth Coalition.
The Congress of Vienna redrew the continent's political map between 1814 and 1815. Huge creations like the Kingdom of Westphalia and the Grand Duchy of Berg were abolished by the victors while suppressed states including Hanover, Brunswick, Hesse-Kassel, and Oldenburg were reinstated.