Cromwell accepted only soldiers and, especially, officers who were dedicated to Protestant ideals, as he was. Earlier during the Civil War (in September 1643) he had written to Sir William Spring saying that he would "rather have a plain, russet-coated Captain, that knows what he fights for, and loves what he knows, than what you call a Gentleman and is nothing else". During the Army's formation, some Presbyterians considered it a hotbed of Independents, a potentially dangerous situation given that Parliament's agreement with the Scottish Covenanters stipulated that Presbyterianism would be the established Church in England. Several prominent Presbyterian officers, mainly expatriate Scottish professional soldiers, refused to serve in the New Model Army on religious grounds. Two of the first Colonels appointed in the Army (Edward Montagu and John Pickering) were known extreme Independents. Pickering even preached sermons to his troops, for which Fairfax reprimanded him. The Earl of Essex brought a motion in the House of Lords to prevent Montagu and Pickering, and 40 Captains who were reportedly of the same persuasion, from holding commissions, but after a tied vote, the motion was not passed to the House of Commons and they were allowed to serve.