General Robert Prescott was a British military officer and colonial administrator. During a military career which spanned over fifty years, he participated in the Seven Years' War, the French and Indian War, and the American Revolutionary War, including key engagements such as the Montreal Campaign. He later became the Governor of Martinique and then, in 1796, Governor General of the Canadas, and the British Army's Commander-in-Chief for North America. He was recalled to England in 1799 after conflict with the Catholic Church and disputes with Anglo-Canadian colonial elites over the distribution of land in the colonies. He continued to hold his position until 1807, with his lieutenant governors acting in his absence. He died in 1815 after unsuccessful attempts to clear his name.

The office of Commander-in-Chief, North America was a military position of the British Army. Established in 1755 in the early years of the Seven Years' War, holders of the post were generally responsible for land-based military personnel and activities in and around those parts of North America that Great Britain either controlled or contested. The post continued to exist until 1775, when Lieutenant-General Thomas Gage, the last holder of the post, was replaced early in the American War of Independence. The post's responsibilities were then divided: Major-General William Howe became Commander-in-Chief, America, responsible for British troops from West Florida to Newfoundland, and General Guy Carleton became Commander-in-Chief, Quebec, responsible for the defence of the Province of Quebec.