 At their first battle, the Battle of Paardeberg the Canadians performed well, and on 27 February 1900 a battalion from the Maritimes end up holding their own ground after a confusing night battle, which just happened to be the moment that the Transvaal General Piet Cronjé chose to surrender, leading to the British and Canadian press to credit the victory to the Canadians, which gave a tremendous boost to Canadian self-confidence.In the warm glow of victory, Laurier agreed to send another 1,320 volunteers to South Africa while the millionaire Lord Strathcona raised a regiment at his own expense in western Canada, recruiting cowboys to form Strathcona's Horse regiment for South Africa.Newspaper coverage of the Boer War presented the conflict as a series of Canadian victories while less flattering news such as defective equipment and uniforms were not mentioned.