At dawn the distant boom of the cannon, firing at the English ships above the town, had come to his ears.

An officer sent for news to the headquarters of the Marquis de Vaudreuil, the Governor-General of New France, much nearer to the town, had not returned, and, mounting, he galloped swiftly with one of his aides to learn the cause of the firing.

Near the Governor-General's house they caught a distant gleam of the scarlet ranks of Wolfe's army, nearly two miles away.
When Montcalm saw that red flash his agitation and excitement became intense.

It is likely that he understood at once the full danger, that he knew the crisis for Canada and France was at hand.

But he dispatched immediately the orders that would bring his army upon the scene.