Guns for General Washington takes place in 1775, during the American Revolutionary War. This conflict arose from the growing tension between the 13 American colonies and the British government, which had been tightening its control over the colonies through various measures that were seen as oppressive. As dissatisfaction grew, so did the desire for independence. One of the most famous acts of resistance occurred in 1773 with the Boston Tea Party, where a group of colonists disguised as Indigenous Americans boarded British ships and dumped an entire shipment of tea into Boston Harbor. This act of defiance prompted the British government to respond with the Coercive Acts of 1774, known in the colonies as the Intolerable Acts. These punitive measures were intended to assert British authority by closing Boston Harbor, altering the Massachusetts government, and allowing British officials accused of crimes in the colonies to be tried in Britain.

Boston, at that time, was a major British stronghold and the center of British power in the New England region. The city was of strategic importance due to its location and its large natural harbor, which was one of the best-protected and most accessible harbors on the East Coast.