Age-of-sail commanders assembled named forces

A fleet commander who needed to watch a second harbour could not always spare an admiral and a large permanent squadron. Instead, a trusted captain might be given several ships and an independent task, producing a named force such as a commander's force or a flagship-named force. The arrangement preserved the main fleet's command structure while creating a tailored detached command. The Royal Navy's distinction between a commodore acting under local authority and a formally ranked commodore shows how authority could be adapted to circumstances. Nelson's early detached commands fit this older but recognizably task-force-like pattern.