info about the 3rd amendment?

Question

were there any "battleground states" for this amendment....did any states, at the time of proposal, protest against it?

Answer 1

No, apparently there was no objection to it.

This seems to have been one of the LEAST discussed of the set of amendments Madison prepared for Congress to vote on --both in Congress and in the state legislatures.

NO state rejected it, nor do I know of any objections to it in the legislative discussions of the states. (There IS a history of the DRAFTING of the amendment in the Bell article mentioned below, which surmises debate about specifics.. but there is no record of why the final form differed from what Madison proposed.)

Note too that this was an amendment desired by a number of states. Of the states that proposed amendments when they ratified the Constitution, FIVE of them recommended one against the forcible quartering of soldiers.

There is a long historical background to this amendment. For a study of the amendment, including its historical roots in European, esp. English History, and the drafting of the Constitutional amendment see "The Third Amendment: Forgotten but Not Gone" by Tom W. Bell, William & Mary Bill of Rights J. 117 (1993) - posted here:
http://www.tomwbell.com/writings/3rd.html

One of the best examples of this issue in English history is found in the English Bill of Rights of 1689 (the document which officially declared the "Glorious Revolution", that is, the removal of James II and installation of William and Mary). The fifth grievance listed against James II --to justify his removal-- was that he "[did endeavour to subvert and extirpate . . . the laws and liberties of this kingdom] by raising and keeping a standing army within this kingdom in time of peace without consent of Parliament, and quartering soldiers contrary to law"
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/england.htm

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Here are the states that proposed such an amendment, with links to their proposals
New Hampshire, New York, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina
http://www.constitution.org/rc/rat_decl-nh.txt Tenth
http://www.constitution.org/rc/rat_decl-ny.txt (9th listed, no numbering)
http://www.constitution.org/rc/rat_md.txt 10.
http://www.constitution.org/bor/amdvacon.txt Eighteenth
http://www.constitution.org/rc/rat_decl-nc.txt 18th

If you wish to see and compare the VARIETY of state-proposed amendments, here is an index of the statements from each state:
http://www.constitution.org/dhbr.htm

And here is a chart of the Sources of a whole host of these amendments (who offered, which were ratified, etc). Check the final column and you'll see that this a fairly common proposal (unlike some that only one or two states asked for).
http://www.constitution.org/bor/sources.htm

Another way to appreciate this amendment is to see its connection to the concern about a "standing army". Many colonists strongly objected to a standing army (that is, one maintained through peace times), preferring to lean on the local and state militias.

Answer 2

"The Petition of Right of 1628, which Charles I was compelled to accept, complained that 'companies of soldiers and mariners had been dispersed into divers [sic] counties, and the inhabitants, against their wills, had been compelled to take them into their houses and allow them there to sojourn against the laws and customs of this realm.' The English Parliament required that the colonists provided quarters for troops, and when General Gage went from Halifax to Boston he demanded quarters, which were refused."

The British Govt. demanded housing for troops inside private homes. The colonists protested. In writing this amendment, they intended to never let it happen again.