Manchester wrote, "Colonel Cromwell raising of his regiment makes choice of his officers not such as were soldiers or men of estate, but such as were common men, poor and of mean parentage, only he would give them the title of godly, precious men..." Late in 1643, Lawrence Crawford was appointed Sergeant-Major General of the Foot.
Manchester stated that Colonel Cromwell preferred to appoint officers who were not skilled soldiers or members of the aristocracy, but instead common men from lower social classes, whom he would honor with titles such as 'godly' and 'precious'. This approach was still in place by late 1643, when Lawrence Crawford became the first Sergeant-Major General of the Foot.