The British Army’s quartering, or lodging, of troops in private homes was one reason Americans sought independence from Great Britain. During the Revolutionary War, American troops were also quartered in private homes because they had no barracks. Weary Rhode Islanders wrote this resolution to Congress demanding that barracks be built. In 1791, the Third Amendment placed restrictions on quartering.
These are the details from a town meeting in Providence, Rhode Island, regarding the issue of troops being barracked upon the population, recorded by town clerk Theodore Foster. It records that the freemen of Providence voted and resolved in their town meeting to appoint a committee to address to their delegates in Congress that accommodation for the troops should be provided at the expense of the United States.
