Charles Crawford was made a Lieutenant on 1 October 1857. In 1866 he was attached to the 8th company of Royal Engineers at Woolwich, and involved in a most unsavoury affair :
The Times, February 26, 1866
A pay corporal of the 8th company of Royal Engineers, named Tylor, stationed at Woolwich, has succeeded in fraudulently appropriating and escaping with about 200l. The loss of a large portion of this sum will, it is feared, fall on Capt. Wheatley, who recently left Woolwich and joined the mounted corps at Aldershott, and Lieut. crawford, now in temporary command of the Company. Corporal Tylor was in habit of drawing the men's working and other pay from the Royal Arsenal, and in his capacity of pay-corporal he was intrusted with funds to discharge the current bills. this, it appears, he had neglected to do, alleging falsely to the various tradesmen tha his captain had authorized himto defer the payment from time to time on some trivial excuse. On Saturday, the 18th inst., he was found to be absent from the pay-call, at which the company was assembled, and he has not since been heard of.

Charles Crawford attended the annual regimental dinner on 11 June 1867 at Willis's Rooms, King street, St.James's, presided by the Duke of Cambridge as Colonel of the Corps. Soon thereafter he was promoted to Second Captain on 10 july 1867.

He later went to India and the 1875 Army Lists specify he then is "Executive Engineer, 2nd Grade, D.P.Works,1 March 74, 6th Circle, Military Works, Allahabad". The Times precises on 21 December 1875 :
(...) The names of the officers who compose the Staff of the Indian contingent are published in the last number of the Gazette of India. (...) Major J.T. Twigge, R.E., as Commanding Engineer ; and Captain C.Crawford, R.E., Lieutenant W.North,R.E., and another subaltern officer as Field Engineers (...)

He will be promoted to Major on 17 August 1877. Major Crawford will come back to England by late 1879 :
The Times, 22 december 1879
The Serapis, Captain Davidson, arrived at portsmouth late on Saturday from Bombay, which place she left on the 17th of November, and Malta on the 10th inst. She brings home from India 27 officers, 147 time-expired men, 22 invalids, 15 women, and 56 children, and also the 1st Battalion 14th Regiment, which she embarked at Aden (...) the names of the officers who took passage from Bombay are :- (...) Major Crawford, R.E. (...) The disembarcation will be made to-day.

A January 1880 order from Horse Guards tell us that "Major C.Crawford, from Allahabad (was) on leave" at the time.

The end of his career was near, as told by the London Gazette :
"Royal Engineers, Major Charles Crawford retires on a pension, with the honorary rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. Dated 27th April, 1881."