Robert Blake and George Monck as soldiers who learned naval command

Have army commanders ever used naval forces more effectively than admirals?

Yes. Robert Blake and George Monck are strong seventeenth-century examples of soldiers who became effective naval commanders.

Robert Blake and George Monck offer strong examples of soldiers who learned to command naval forces effectively. Both emerged from the conflicts of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms rather than from a modern professional naval career path. Their careers show that operational judgment and state service could cross the land-sea boundary while naval institutions were still developing. Later distinctions between general and admiral fit seventeenth-century command only imperfectly.